Change Has Come
by Attic Man
Summary: The Weekenders. Feelings well up deep inside, change has come, and you can't hide in the ashes. Complete.
1. First Day Blues

Change Has Come - Chapter One: First Day Blues  
  
"Hey there, Tino here. Take a look at me, Mr. Big High School Guy. Well, okay, I'm not all that big, but I am in high school now. Yep, today was the first day, and I'm waitin' out here for the guys. Fortunately enough, our first day was on a Friday so we have the time to hit the pizza place, and talk about our first high school experience. Ahh, there's Carver now."  
  
Carver ran up with a worried expression on his face, and a wild gesturing of arms that signaled to Tino he was overreacting about something or other.  
  
"You don't look so good. Something up?" Tino asked.  
  
"You bet something is up! I have the most repulsive teachers possible. I don't know if I'm gonna make it through the year," Carver responded.  
  
"Aren't you overreacting just a little? I mean it's the first day, and it was just an orientation day really. How could you possibly tell you have mean teachers?"  
  
"Mean? No, they seem like really nice people."  
  
"What? You just said they were the most repulsive teachers possible."  
  
"Yeah, they are. One of them was wearing a pink sweater vest with orange sweat pants, another was wearing a neon yellow cardigan, one had on some seriously scuffed shoes, and don't even get me started on my math teacher. How am I supposed to concentrate with those kinds of travesties being in my field of vision?"  
  
Tino rolled his eyes and shook his head at the same time.   
  
"You know, I don't think there are enough words in every language combined to even begin describing how ridiculous that is."  
  
Carver narrowed his eyes and stared at Tino.  
  
"Hey guys."  
  
Carver and Tino turned around to see Lor coming up behind them.  
  
"Hey there. So how was your first day?" Tino asked.  
  
"Well, it was alright. My teachers seem pretty nice. Of course, I'm still getting over the shock that we are actually in high school."  
  
"Yeah, I know what you mean. It felt weird to get up this morning and come here instead of Bahia Bay Middle School," Tino commented.  
  
"Well, all I know is that this big day has given me a big appetite so let's go get us some pizza," Carver said.  
  
"Sure, we'll go as soon as Tish gets here," Lor commented.  
  
"Where is she anyway? She should have been out here by now," Tino asked.  
  
"I saw her running over to the big bulletin board in the main entrance as I was walking out here," Lor answered.  
  
"Big bulletin board?"  
  
"Yeah, it's in the main entrance and they post all sorts of stuff there like news about upcoming events and stuff."  
  
"Hey, here comes Tish now," Carver said pointing to the main steps.  
  
"Is high school great or what? Did you see the theater club presentation? This is what I have been waiting for. Now I will shine not only in academics, but on the stage as well. Ahhh, isn't this all so wonderful? I can't wait to become immersed in the Bahia High experience" Tish said bursting with excitement.  
  
"Whatever. Personally, I can't wait to be immersed in a large pizza, so let's go hit the pizza place," Tino commented.  
  
The four took their seats around one of the small wrestling rings as the waiter dressed in tights and a championship belt came over to them.  
  
"Do you think that you little punks can handle the world's tastiest opponent?! What gives you the idea that you can finish off the likes of the world heavyweight champion of food, the extra cheese pizza?!"  
  
All were taken aback slightly at the waiter's angry tone except Lor who felt right at home in "Pizza Wrestling".   
  
"I'll tell you who we think we are! We are Lor, Tino, Tish, and Carver, the newest and most dominating force in the pizza pie world! We are The Weekenders!" Lor bellowed.  
  
"Ooookay, let me get your pizza," the waiter said a bit surprised that someone actually got into the theme as much as he did.  
  
Tino, Tish, and Carver all stared at Lor as they were also surprised at her outburst.  
  
"The Weekenders?" Tino questioned.  
  
"Well, The Four Horsemen is taken, and I couldn't think of anything better," Lor answered.  
  
"Anyway, how about high school? I'm not looking forward to the workload, but I am looking forward to the people in school, specifically the female portion," Carver commented.  
  
"Aside from the last part of his statement, I agree with Carver," Lor said.  
  
"Well, that really doesn't come as a surprise. You two never were workhorses. However, considering what does have you in excitement, I suppose you are looking forward to the dance," Tish commented.  
  
"What? A dance? I didn't know there was any dance. How do you know there is a dance?" Tino questioned sounding slightly worried.  
  
"Yeah, I don't recall any dance being mentioned," Carver added.  
  
"Well, obviously you guys don't pay attention, nor do you take notice of what your school is offering. On the big bulletin board there was a big flyer announcing the dance. Not only that but there were smaller flyers posted all over the building. Didn't you see any of them?"  
  
"No, I was too busy checkin' out the ladies," Carver answered.  
  
"Same here," Tino said.  
  
Tish shook her head, "Sometimes........ Anyway, the point is there's a dance next Sunday at school, which gives us about one week to get dates."  
  
"Yeah, you're right. Maybe I should try asking Thomson to go the dance with me. This dance could be a good opportunity for me," Lor commented.  
  
"I hate to rain on your parade, but it's freshman only, so you can't bring Thomson since he is a sophomore."  
  
"Oh man, there goes that great idea."  
  
"Oh, I hate dances. There is no way out. Everyone will be going so if I don't go then I look like a loser, and if I do go then I have to put up with the painful process of getting a date. Whoever came up with the idea of dances must have hated people like me," Tino digressed.  
  
"This is terrible. One week does not give us enough time to come up with a plan for the dance," Carver moaned.  
  
"What's there to plan? It's just a dance," Tish commented.  
  
"Just a dance? Just a dance?! A dance is a very important social function. It is because of dances that we have a reason to talk to members of the opposite sex and dances give us good opportunities to impress those members of the opposite sex. It is necessary to plan who you will ask, how you will ask them, and how you will impress them."  
  
"I don't think that requires planning. You pick someone you like, and then just say 'Wanna go to the dance?', then at the dance you hang out and dance to impress them. That's it, end of story."  
  
"Well, when you put it that way, it sounds pretty reasonable and simple which is exactly why it doesn't work that way, Tish. The whole choosing a date process is much more complicated than that. There is anxiety and rejection involved, it's a rigorous event."  
  
"I agree with Carver. We could be rejected and be made complete fools of, and then it will spread throughout the entire school, and we won't ever be able to ask anyone to a dance again," Tino said.  
  
"Wait, hold on. What's this 'we' business? I don't have a fear of being rejected. Take a look at these classical features, who could possibly turn them down?" Carver asked.  
  
"You just said a few seconds ago about rejection making the whole thing complicated."  
  
"Yeah, me rejecting the girls. I have to plan which ones I'll reject, and which one I'll take with me to the dance. Coming up with different excuses for each girl requires planning."  
  
"Carver, I don't even know where to start yelling at you for what you just said," Tish said obviously ticked off.  
  
"Well, I think the biggest problem is that we only have like a week to get a date. And since I can't ask Thomson, I have no idea who to ask now," Lor commented.  
  
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Since Tasha doesn't live around here anymore I can't ask her, so I have the same problem," Tino said.  
  
"Count me in with you guys because I have no idea who to ask either," Tish said.  
  
"See? You have some anxiety about this. I told you it's not such a simple process. You yell at me about it, but you are worried too," Carver said pointing at Tish.  
  
"I'm not worried, Carver! You are just blowing things out of proportion, but tell me if you are so confident in yourself whom are you going to go with?"  
  
Carver's smirk disappeared and was replaced with a worried look.  
  
"Well, I was planning on, uhh, what's her name? Or maybe ummm, uhhhh, you know the one, but maybe I would go with, uhhh, that other girl, or possibly I would, uhhh, uhhhh, I can't tell you who. It's a surprise."  
  
The others grinned at Carver.  
  
"You are just the same as us. You don't know who you are going to take to the dance," Lor said.  
  
Carver crossed his arms and looked away, trying to save face.  
  
"It seems to me that we all have to start thinking about what we are going to do. We are pressed on time and we need to figure out who we will ask to the dance. So, I suggest that we think about it tonight and tomorrow we will hit the mall and see if we can find people from our grade who could potentially be dates," Tino concluded.  
  
The others nodded in agreement with the plan hoping things would work out.  
  
End of Chapter One  
  
Hello there. I'm back with another Weekenders fic. I hope people will get as much entertainment out of this one as they did with the last one, if not more. So stay tuned as this story expands. And I know it's a long shot, but I hope someone will recognize this story's title and summary. Anyway, please read and review. 


	2. Developing A New Feeling

Change Has Come - Chapter Two: Developing A New Feeling  
  
Tino walked down the street to Tish's house pondering whom he would ask to go the dance with him. He had thought about it all night, and he hadn't come up with any definite answers.  
  
"Hmmm, I suppose I could ask Ruby. Nah, she will be going with Percy just like always. Maybe I could go with Nona. No way, I'm small and she's tall, it would look ridiculous. Possibly,..... oh there's Tish."  
  
Tino walked up to her on the steps to her house.  
  
"Hi Tino. Where is Carver? I thought he was going to be with you."  
  
"Oh he got stuck babysitting Todd today and tomorrow while his parents are out of town. While on the topic of missing people, I thought Lor would be with you."  
  
"She won't be coming with us today because she has chores that she was supposed to do last weekend."  
  
"Great, there goes half the group. Now they'll miss out on date hunting."  
  
"Oh well, the two of us can still go on the hunt. I'm sure that those two will be just fine. Let's face it they are more popular than us so I'm sure they don't need this as much as we do."  
  
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Well, let's get to the mall then."  
  
As the two walked to the mall Tino asked Tish who she had come up with as potential dates.  
  
"Well, I'm not sure. I thought about it a lot last night, and I couldn't seem to come up with one person who I would like to go to the dance with. Yeah, I think some of the guys in our grade are nice and all, but there is no one who I feel that I really connect with."  
  
"I don't think you have to necessarily connect with someone for this dance. I mean it's not like a prom or something. I would say you just have to find someone you can tolerate."  
  
"Yeah, I know, but still it would be nice to go with someone I liked. Carver was right when he said that a dance is a good social function to impress someone."  
  
"I suppose so, well maybe at the mall one of the guys from school will catch your eye."  
  
"I can only hope so. How about you? Did you come up with anyone that you could see yourself asking to the dance?"  
  
"No, not really. I mean there are some girls I'd like to ask, but I know that I would get rejected."  
  
"Really? Who would you like to ask?"  
  
Tino looked away as he spoke, "Well, I would like to ask Cheri, Kristi, or Kandi, but, well, you know."  
  
Tish did her best to stifle any laughter when she spoke.   
  
"Yeah, I think that you had better come up with more reasonable people to ask to the dance. Plus, I'm pretty sure that Cheri is a grade ahead of us. Since when do you like any of those girls anyway?"  
  
"Huh? Well, it's not so much that I like them, but the fact that they are really cute girls, you know?"  
  
"No, I don't know," Tish said dryly.  
  
"Hey don't look at me like that. I'm a guy it's to be expected. At least I'm not as bad as Carver."  
  
"Yeah, that's true, but you should still be more open-minded about girls. Looks aren't everything. You should be just as appreciative of a girl's intellect and personality as you are of her looks."  
  
"I know that and I am. It's just that looks are the first thing I notice. If I look across the room at a girl, I can't tell if she is smart or a nice person, but I can tell if she is cute or not."  
  
"I suppose that's true, but you should still try and get to know someone before passing judgment on them. A pretty face doesn't always indicate a pretty personality."  
  
"You don't believe in love at first sight, do you?"  
  
"I don't know if I would go that far, but I do prefer logic and research. Scientific study is the way to go if you ask me."  
  
"That sounds pretty strange coming from someone who is a big Shakespeare fan. I was pretty sure that Shakespeare was all about the power of love."  
  
"It is to a certain extent, and I do enjoy that line of thinking. However, reality has taught me that love doesn't tend to work as it does in Shakespeare. I always dream that I could find love like in Shakespeare minus all the dying, of course, but it seems pretty impossible. So I must go with what I know is true and that is scientific study."  
  
"I don't think love has anything to do with science. You can't determine love with science and logic. It's an emotion, so I think it will happen when it's time."  
  
"Well, you have your opinion and I have mine. Regardless, none of that matters for today. It's not like we are looking for our life partners or something, we are just trying to find dates to a dance."  
  
"True, but who knows? Maybe this is destiny, and one of us will find true love in the mall. Perhaps you walk into Strings 'N Things, and you spot some dulcimer champion. And his very gaze melts your heart and your chug-a-freez. Why, this trip to the mall could be just the thing to launch your love life."  
  
Tish stared at Tino for a little unsure if she had heard him correctly.  
  
"Since when did you become a romantic?"  
  
"Since never. I'm just working on my romantic act since I hear some girls go for that kind of thing."   
  
Tish shook her head slightly as they continued on to the mall.  
  
After Tino and Tish had both gotten their chug-a-freezes, they took a seat at one of the many tables in the mall's atrium. Both kept their eyes peeled for any potential dance date candidates.   
  
"Tino, how about that girl over there?"  
  
"Which one?"  
  
"The one with the red hair and glasses."  
  
"No, she hates Captain Dreadnought."  
  
"You're not going to talk to her because of a comic book?" Tish asked incredulous.  
  
"Well, she doesn't just hate it, she despises it. It makes a big difference to me."  
  
"Okay. Whatever. Hey, how about that girl over there with the ponytail?"  
  
"No way, she once called me Jack."  
  
"So, what does that matter? She probably thought it was your name for whatever reason."  
  
"I don't think so. I think she knew what my name was she was just calling me Jack because of my pumpkin shaped head."  
  
"I think you're paranoid. Look Tino, you can't just pass over potential dates because of trivial things."  
  
"They aren't trivial. These things matter in a case like this. I'm sure I'll spot someone that is right for me."  
  
"You had better hope so. You only have a week to get a date and this is a good time to find someone."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure I'll be fine. Hey take a look over there, how about that guy for you?"  
  
"Hmmm, I don't think I've ever seen him before."  
  
"I've seen him before. He moved here last year. I believe I recall him mentioning that he was looking to become an actor."  
  
"An actor?!" Tish said with excitement.  
  
"Yeah, I remember him saying that his dream was to play Hamlet, and that his hero was Olivier."  
  
"Okay, I know what's going on here. You are making things up, so I will go to talk to him and look like a fool. I'm on to your game."  
  
"Who's being paranoid now? I'm telling you the truth. I think he would be right up your alley. You should go and talk to him."  
  
"I don't know. I suppose I should, but then- Oh my gosh! He just went into Strings 'N Things. He is a musician and an actor? I have to talk to him. Wait, I don't even know his name."  
  
"Well, aren't you lucky that I'm here then? His name is Rico."  
  
"Thanks, Tino."  
  
"Hey, what are friends for?"  
  
"Okay, I'm going to go in there and try and strike up a conversation, and then possibly ask him to the dance. Wish me luck."  
  
"Good luck, and hey, leave your chug-freez here. You don't want it melting now, do ya?" Tino said with a slight grin.  
  
Tish returned the gesture and was off to Strings 'N Things. Once in the store Tish looked around trying to find Rico. She spotted him playing a guitar in the corner.  
  
"Well, he isn't a dulcimer player, but he still is a musician," Tish thought to herself as she approached him.  
  
As she got close she could hear his playing and she cringed slightly.   
  
"He isn't too good of a musician. Okay, Tish just ignore the 'music' and act cool."  
  
Tish took a deep breath as she made the final step to be standing next to him.  
  
She smiled and said in a friendly manner, "Hello there."  
  
Rico didn't even bother looking up at her, and his only response was a grunt.  
  
"I see you're a guitar player."  
  
This time Rico looked at her. "What was your first clue?"  
  
Tish was a bit taken aback by his gruffness, but she pressed on anyway.  
  
"I'm a musician myself. I play the dulcimer."  
  
"The dulcimer? What a wimpy instrument. You should try playing an instrument that people actually would actually like to hear. The dulcimer, pffft."  
  
Rico went back to trying to play the guitar. Tish repressed her anger and kept her cool.   
  
"Okay then. I heard that you want to become an actor. I want to be an actress myself. My favorite play is 'Romeo and Juliet'. How about you?"  
  
Rico laughed haughtily.  
  
"'Romeo and Juliet'? That's child's play! My favorite is 'Othello'. Now that is Shakespeare at his finest. You need to learn to appreciate the higher aspects of theater if you want to become an actress. Actually with your looks you may want to consider doing only radio plays."  
  
"What?!" Tish hissed completely irate.  
  
Rico laughed haughtily again and said, "Why don't you just run along? You're messing up my concentration."  
  
Tish held herself back from going punching a hole in his face.  
  
Through clenched teeth she said, "Well, I'm sorry to have bothered you."  
  
"That's okay. Just so long as you stop bothering me."  
  
Tish hurried out of the store afraid that she would lose it and start breaking stuff. As soon as she sat down, she buried her head in her arms on the table.  
  
Tino looked at her for a few seconds then said, "Sooo, can I assume things didn't go to well?"  
  
Tish didn't bother looking up as she answered, "It was horrible. That guy is a complete jerk. All he did was make fun of me. He said the dulcimer was wimpy, that I had poor taste in Shakespeare, and worst of all he implied that I was ugly."  
  
"Man, what a loser. You want me to go rough him up?"  
  
"No thanks. Violence wouldn't solve anything. This is the reason that I don't try talking to guys."  
  
"Tish, you can't let this one jerk ruin everything for you. There are plenty of guys out there, and not all of us are jerks. Just most of us are jerks. I'm sure there is someone special out there for you. You just have to shake off the disappointments and move on."  
  
"Maybe, you're right."  
  
"Of course I'm right. And for what it's worth I think you're pretty."  
  
Tish lifted her head up and looked at Tino.  
  
"Do you really mean that?"  
  
"Sure, that guy must have bad vision or something."  
  
"Thanks, Tino. That means a lot to me. I feel a lot better now."  
  
"Hey, that's what I'm here for," Tino said with a smile.  
  
Tish returned the gesture for the second time that day.  
  
Tish sat in her room still pondering the question of who to ask to the dance. She didn't see a single person at the mall that she wanted to go the dance with.  
  
"Oh, what am I going to do? I couldn't find even one person I liked. I'm never going to get a date to the dance."  
  
Tish paced a bit hoping her walking would jolt her mind and she would get an idea.   
  
"The only person at the mall who I felt any connection with was Tino, and it's not like I could ask him."   
  
Tish stopped pacing at that point, and her last thought run through her mind again.  
  
"Wait, why couldn't I ask Tino? We have hung out with each other for years now, so we obviously both enjoy each other's copmpany."  
  
Tish continued pacing as her current line of thinking began to excite her.  
  
"How come I didn't think of this before? I guess it was so obvious it never even crossed my mind. Yes, all this time when I just thought I had an upset stomach every time I looked at Tino, it was really me developing feelings for him."  
  
Tish felt a tingle of exhilaration run through her body with her last thought.   
  
"And this afternoon when he said that I was pretty, that wasn't my chug-a-freez messing with my stomach it was love. Wait a minute! He said that I was pretty. Does that mean he likes me too?"  
  
Tish felt like prancing around her room, but she repressed the urge in order to think things through once more.  
  
"Okay, I get weird feelings in my stomach every time I look at Tino, and sometimes the way he looks at me makes me feel slightly nervous. Today, when he complimented me it made my day even after being completely humiliated by some jerk. I have to admit I think I've got feelings for Tino. It feels so thrilling!"  
  
Tish laid back on her bed and smiled at her ceiling.  
  
"He called me pretty today, so maybe he likes me too, but how come he has never said it before? Hmmmm, I know! Carver and Lor weren't with us today. He must be embarrassed to admit that he thinks I'm pretty in front of them. I guess I'll just have to subtly let Tino know that I like him, and that I realize he likes me. Now that I think about it, Carver and Lor would probably give me a hard time too if they knew I liked Tino. I had best keep this to myself for now. I know if I can somehow wind up going to the dance with Tino then I can tell him about my affection for him. Wow! I can't believe that I have fallen for someone who not only do I have a chance with, but it seems that he likes me too!"  
  
Tish continued smiling as she lay on her bed. For her the day had been a success after all.  
  
End of Chapter Two  
  
I posted both Chapters Two and Three at the same time for a reason so make sure that you read Chapter Three directly after this. Some of you may have noticed a bit of discontinuity in this chapter and the show. That discontinuity being the fact that in the show Strings 'N Things is shown on the second floor of the mall, and in this chapter I have it on the first floor. Just a minor note, although in one episode Strings 'N Things isn't even in the mall, but that's beside the point. As always read and review. 


	3. Something In The Air

Change Has Come - Chapter Three: Something In The Air  
  
Tino walked down the street to Lor's house still thinking about who to ask to the dance just as he was the day before. His trip to the mall had provided no help for him, and he was hoping that maybe on his journey through the town today he would find someone. Tino went up and knocked on Lor's door to see if she had finished her chores and was able to do something that beautiful Sunday.  
  
The door swung open and Lor greeted him, "Hey Tino. How's it going?"  
  
"Could be better, I still haven't been able to come up with a single person to ask to the dance."  
  
"I guess that the mall trip wasn't so successful then, eh?"  
  
"No, it wasn't. It didn't help me at all. I'm no closer to figuring out who I want to go with than I was when on Friday."  
  
"Yeah, same here. While I was doing chores I kept thinking about it, but I couldn't come up with anyone. I tell ya, this is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be."  
  
"Definitely. Speaking of chores, did you finish your chores yesterday?"  
  
"Yep, I got all of them done so I could go out today. So let's not waste anymore time and go pick up Tish and Carver."  
  
"Oh those two won't be joining us today. Carver got saddled with babysitting yesterday and today, and Tish has got a dulcimer lesson and she is going to some meeting at school for freshman interested in theater."  
  
"Their loss. I say we hit Funville for some pool. It should be interesting to play one on one."  
  
"Oh yeah, I'm sure it will be real interesting. If by interesting you mean, humiliating. The only time I even have a chance of winning in pool is when I'm playing with someone else. Not only that, if I recall correctly your pool record stands at 41-1."  
  
"Yeah, I still can't believe that I lost that one match. What an intense game, but I underestimated Little Mac, he had more heart than I did."  
  
"Whatever. Let's go to make sure we get a table. At least there is a chance of finding a potential date for the dance there, so I have a reason being there besides losing in pool."  
  
Lor laughed a bit at Tino's acknowledgment of his fate in pool.   
  
When Tino and Lor arrived at Funville there was one open pool table. Quickly they grabbed the necessary equipment and claimed it as their own.  
  
"We got here just in time. If we had waited any longer coming here I might not have been able to obliterate you in pool. I guess then I would have to tear you apart in Motorcycle Space Avengers."  
  
"Thanks for that vote of confidence," Tino said with overwhelming sarcasm.  
  
"Are you going to try and tell me that you would win? C'mon, you know that will never happen."  
  
"Yeah, but I can dream can't I?"  
  
"Dreaming is right. Now let's get on with it. Do you want to count each individual game or best two out of three?"  
  
"I'll pick best two out of three. That way I can try and delude myself into thinking I can still win a match."  
  
Lor racked the balls and let Tino do the honors. It only took one shot for Lor to begin laughing uncontrollably at Tino's sports incompetence.  
  
Between bursts of laughter she managed to say, "I don't think I've ever seen anyone miss on the break."  
  
Tino was less than amused and said, "Yeah, yeah well there's a first for everything. Now stop laughing and take your shot."  
  
Lor calmed herself down and lined up her approach. She got into position and took her shot. Tino stared with his mouth agape as he watched Lor's opening shot sink half the balls.   
  
"You know, I don't think there is any reason for me to continue to play. Clearly, you are going to destroy me."  
  
"Don't be such a baby. It's no fun if you quit. You have to try so it's humiliating when you lose miserably."  
  
"Wow, I can't understand why I never play you in games more often," Tino commented, his sarcastic nature showing again.  
  
The game lasted for about another two minutes as Lor cleared the table of the remaining solids seemingly with ease.  
  
"Well, that's one game for me. You have to win this one to stay alive," Lor chided Tino.  
  
"I know, I know, but I'm feelin' a good vibe about this game though. I just gotta go with the flow."  
  
"Whatever, dude. I'll give you the honors once again to try and redeem yourself."   
  
Tino focused intensely on his shot and this time he connected with the balls and sent them scattering, even sinking one of them.  
  
"Yes! Take that! Who's laughing now?" Tino called out as he danced around the table.  
  
Lor rolled her eyes, "You sunk one ball. That hardly calls for such a celebration, but I suppose that's one more than you usually sink."  
  
Tino quickly shot a look at Lor but then brushed off the comment continuing his little dance. This time around the game actually went back and forth between the two Tino got in some pretty good shots while Lor hit some particularly bad ones. It was Tino's turn and he carefully lined up his move feeling that it could make or break the game for him. He breathed deeply and then made his shot. As Tino watched the action unfold he let out a shout of joy.  
  
"Ha! I just sunk two balls with one shot! What do you think of that?"  
  
"Dude, the two you just sank were stripes and you're solids."  
  
Tino's rejoicing ceased immediately, "Oh man. I hate this game."  
  
Lor laughed at Tino's folly and patted him on the head. "You're so amusing, dear."  
  
"Yeah, well that doesn't bring back my shot."  
  
Lor laughed again and stepped up to take her shot. Thanks to Tino, she sank her remaining ball and went on to win.   
  
"Well, that's that. It looks like I can put another notch in my belt. I'll tell ya, winning is everything."  
  
"Yeah well I would have won if I didn't sink two of your balls."  
  
"But you did sink the wrong balls, so you lost. Face it, Tino, we both knew I was going to win."  
  
"Fine, well rather than be embarrassed again, I think I'll start looking around for a date to the dance. I'll probably have better luck with that than I do against you in pool."  
  
"Oh come on, Tino don't be like that. You know that I can't lose in pool."  
  
"Beating Tonitini is no big accomplishment. In fact, if I even came close to losing to him I don't think I would ever show my face around here again," a familiar voice said from behind Tino and Lor.  
  
They turned around to see Laird of Campo Fields.  
  
"Personally, I don't think you should show your face around here anyway," Lor snapped.  
  
"Oh I feel so hurt. I heard your earlier proclamation. So you think you can't lose, huh? Well, let's see if that's true, right here, right now. And since you seem so confident, how about we make a little interesting? If you win you get the bragging rights, and my acknowledgement that you are the best, but if I win then Tonitini here becomes my personal attendant for a week."  
  
Lor looked around at all the kids waiting to hear her decision. She then looked back at Laird with a determined look in her eyes.  
  
"You're on!" she said brimming with energy.  
  
"Good, I'll rack 'em and you can break," Laird answered.  
  
"Lor, what do you think you are doing?! Do you realize what will happen if you lose?" Tino exclaimed.  
  
"I know the stakes are high, but you know firsthand how good I am at pool."  
  
"Yeah I know, but still what if you mess up a few shots? I hate to admit it, but Laird is really good. If you screw up once he could win."  
  
"Don't worry, it'll be fine. Just calm down and cheer me on, okay?"  
  
Tino sighed knowing he had no say in the matter. "Fine. I'll be cheering you on. You had better win."  
  
Lor gave him a thumbs up and approached the pool table ready for her most important game to date.  
  
"Break them and let's get this match underway," Laird commented.  
  
Lor opened with a good break scattering the balls all over the table. Laird took his shot, sinking a ball, thus establishing himself as solids and Lor as stripes. The game went back and forth each of the players at the top of their game. Both were neck and neck the whole time keeping the crowd interested and entertained. Laird and Lor meticulously planned every shot, neither one wanting to slip at all. After what seemed like hours of amazing gameplay, the match came down to both players trying to sink the eight ball. It was Lor's turn, and she had a difficult setup to work with. Lor surveyed the table deciding the best way to approach the shot.   
  
While she thought about it Laird turned to Tino, "I hope you enjoy cleaning because my room is really messy."  
  
"This game isn't over, Laird. I know Lor will sink this shot and beat you... I hope."  
  
Laird laughed at Tino's worried disposition. Lor looked over the table once more and then lined up her shot.  
  
"Eight ball in the corner pocket," she called out.  
  
Lor took a deep breath and then connected with the cue ball. The ball rolled speedily down the table, ricocheted off the far wall, then came back and hit the eight ball diagonally sending towards the corner pocket Lor had pointed to earlier. As the eight ball approached it slowed down and everyone watched with bated breath. The ball teetered on the edge and Tino was about ready to pass out and bite off his lower lip. Then with it's last bit of energy the eight ball tipped over into the corner pocket. The crowd erupted into cheers while Laird's mouth fell open and he dropped to his knees. Tino jumped for joy and rushed over to Lor. Overcome with excitement and happiness Tino gave her a big hug while profusely thanking her for winning.  
  
Lor began to blush and stammer with Tino's outpouring of gratitude, "Ummmm, T-Tino, heh, it was r-r-really no big deal."  
  
But Tino wasn't listening; he was too busy cheering for her. Amidst all the excitement Laird tried to leave without upholding his part of the agreement. However, Tino saw him out of the corner of his eye and called out to him.   
  
"Hey Laird, you aren't thinking of leaving without fulfilling your part of the bet?"  
  
Laird grumbled and slowly walked over to Lor.   
  
"You are........ the better player. You beat me," he mumbled.  
  
"What? I'm sorry, you're gonna have to speak up," Lor told him with a smile.  
  
"I said you are the better player. You beat me."  
  
Lor nodded, "That's better. Now run along."  
  
"You may have won this time, but I'll beat you next time! You and your little wimpy boyfriend got lucky this time."  
  
Lor began to blush at Laird's comments and she tried to correct him.  
  
"H-He's not my-"  
  
But she was cut off by Tino who yelled at Laird, "That's what you think, Laird! Lor can beat you anytime, anywhere!"  
  
Laird left in a huff trying to preserve his bruised ego.  
  
Tino turned back to Lor and put his hand on her shoulder congratulating her once more, "Good job, Lor. You really showed him."  
  
"Huh? Oh yeah, it was nothin'," Lor replied her mind elsewhere.  
  
Later that night, Lor paced in her room trying to sort out her feelings and make sure that she had the important details of the day correct.  
  
"Why did he have to go and do it? Why did he have to hug me? I had finally started to lose my feelings for him and then he hugs me and now I'm right back in it. I was so proud of myself today, it was just the two of us and I wasn't making a complete fool of myself. I really thought that I was finally back on track, but noooo, Tino has to hug me."  
  
Lor started pacing faster to try and get out the excitement that was building within her.   
  
"How am I supposed to follow my plan to ignore my feelings if he is going to hug me? This is so bogus! I hate feelings."  
  
Lor flopped onto her bed and pushed her face into a pillow.  
  
"God must have a sense of humor. Feelings can be so weird. I couldn't have just had a crush on Thomson. That would be too convenient. I have to start having a crush on Tino, someone I hang out with all the time, who would probably be weirded out if I ever told him. I mean I'm pretty sure he thinks of me as a sister."  
  
Lor lifted her head up and looked out her window at the night sky. A breeze blew by and with it she had a revelation.   
  
"Wait a minute, today Laird called Tino my boyfriend, and Tino made no effort to correct him. Maybe he liked the idea of being called my boyfriend, and that's why he didn't disagree. Yeah, that has to be it."  
  
A big smile spread across Lor's face as she decided to completely focus on that thought.   
  
"One question remains though, with the exception of one time when we were twelve Tino has never hugged me before. So why did he feel okay doing it today?"  
  
Lor placed her head in her hands as she tried to concentrate and figure out an answer. Then like a bolt of lightning an answer came to her.   
  
"I know! It's because Carver and Tish weren't around. Now that I think about it, when he hugged the first time years ago Carver and Tish weren't around either. That has to be it."  
  
Lor almost shrieked with happiness that everything seemed to work out and make sense to her.  
  
"Hmmm, if Tino doesn't want to reveal his feelings for me in front of Carver and Tish then I suppose that I should keep it quiet too. I'll just kind of hint to him that I know what's going on. If I can just get him to be my date to the dance then I can reveal my feelings while we are dancing away from everyone else."  
  
Lor smiled wide, very content with how things were looking.  
  
Over at the Tonitini residence, Tino sat at his computer telling Carver about his lack of success at getting a date to the dance over the weekend.  
  
"Yeah, this weekend turned up nothing for me, and I was at both the mall and Funville. Both places are big hangouts for the kids from our grade."  
  
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I was busy all weekend babysitting so of course I got nowhere in my quest for the perfect date."  
  
"I thought it was going to be all the girls asking you? Why would you have to quest?"  
  
"You know what I mean, T. I have a few people in mind that I'm thinking that I might ask."  
  
"Oh yeah? Like who?"  
  
"You'll find out during the week when I'm talking to those lucky ladies. I'm sure everything will turn out alright."  
  
"Yeah, you're probably right. I'm sure I'll find someone this week to go with."  
  
"I wasn't talking about you. I'm sure everything will be all right for me. I don't know about you. I mean you don't have the fashion sense or classical features like me that ensures a date."  
  
Although Carver couldn't see it, Tino was rolling his eyes as exaggerated as he possibly could.  
  
"You know I think you might want to have your brain checked Carver."  
  
"Whatever. I have got some homework to finish so I'll see ya tomorrow."  
  
"Okay, man, later days."  
  
Tino turned around on his computer chair.  
  
"Hey there, guys. So, how about this whole dance situation? It's crazy. You know, I never thought that this would be so hard. It's not until you sit down and think about it that you realize there aren't as many people that you can ask or want to ask as the case may be. I know I'm finding that out. I suppose I could always ask Tish or Lor to go to the dance. Nah, I know neither of those two would want to go with me. Plus, it would sorta feel like I was going with my sister, and you know that doesn't fly. Well, hopefully this week I can find someone to go with. Wish me luck and later days!"  
  
End of Chapter Three  
  
Ahhh, what a tangled web I weave. It makes for an interesting story I think, or at least I hope it does. Anyway, I haven't forgotten about Carver in case you're curious he will be more prominent in the upcoming chapters. That's it for now; I don't really have any comments for this chapter. I did at one point, but I forgot them so oh well. Stay tuned and review. 


	4. The Middle Man

Change Has Come - Chapter Four: The Middle Man  
  
Tino slowly walked out of Bahia High, his head swaying low. He made his way to a tree and leaned up against it as he waited for the rest of the gang to show up.  
  
"Oh hey. As you can see I don't look too happy. I'm sure you can easily guess why. That's right I still don't have a date for the dance yet. You would think that I could find one girl who I wouldn't be completely embarrassed to ask to the dance. I'm running out of time. I need to figure something out quick if not sooner. Tish and Lor are in the same boat as I am. Hopefully, before 7:00pm Sunday night we will luck out. Not only because we want to go with someone we like, but also because we can't take Carver rubbing it in that he has a date. On a sidenote, Tish and Lor have been acting strange all week. I have many theories about their behavior each more bizarre than it's predecessor, but nothing definite."  
  
At that moment Carver, Lor, and Tish came up beside Tino. Tish and Lor weren't looking too good as both were disappointed for the same reason. Despite their best efforts neither one could get Tino to ask them to the dance. Carver, however, sported a huge smile.  
  
"Yep, I definitely can't wait till Sunday. This dance is major, and I'm glad that I'll get to spend it with my date. Oh yeah, me and my date are going to have a great time," Carver said with his big grin.  
  
"Carver, I strongly promote non-violence, but in your case I'll make an exception if you don't zip your lip," Tish said with a glare.  
  
"Hey, just because you have no one to ask, doesn't mean you should take it out on me," Carver replied apparently unfazed.  
  
"Well, I have no problem with violence, and you're gettin' on my nerves too, Carv," Lor commented making a fist.  
  
"Calm down, girls. Sure, Carver is being a jerk, but isn't he always in situations like these? C'mon just let it go," Tino said.  
  
"Yeah, just calm down. Wait, did you just call me a jerk?"  
  
"Forget about it, Carv. Anyway, I have to go to a doctor's appointment, so I have to get on home," Tino commented.  
  
"Then I guess we'll see you tomorrow. Later days," Carver commented.  
  
Tino waved goodbye, and Tish and Lor returned the gesture. Both winced inside, though, that Tino wouldn't be joining them.  
  
"So, how about we hit the Snack Shack for some chug-a-freezes?" Carver suggested.  
  
Tish and Lor agreed with silent nods.  
  
"Oh c'mon you guys have to cheer up. You won't get any dates looking so gloomy. Hey, maybe someone at the Snack Shack will catch your eye," Carver commented.  
  
The idea of finding a date didn't appeal to Tish or Lor, but they nodded anyway.   
  
The three situated themselves around their usual table and began to drink their chug-a-freezes. Lor and Tish kept their frowns while drinking, Carver, on the other hand, put his feet up on the table and leaned back satisfied with his situation.  
  
"You know what? From now on call me Don Juan. I think the name fits me very well, don't you think? A charming man who all the ladies love, that's definitely me," Carver commented.  
  
"I'm pretty sure Lord Byron is rolling over in his grave right now," Tish commented bitterly.  
  
"Who's Lord Byron?"  
  
Tish shook her head and went back to drinking her chug-a-freez. The table went silent and Carver looked over the two moping girls.  
  
"Alright, that's enough of this. Both of you need to snap out of it. Your funk ends here and now."  
  
Lor and Tish looked at him, but made no other real movements.  
  
"That's easier said than done, Carver," Lor commented.  
  
"So you don't have dates to the dance, so people will think you lack the ability to attract guys, so this is an important event that you won't get the best out of. Is it really all that bad?"  
  
"If that's your idea of encouragement than I hate to see your idea of discouragement," Tish commented.  
  
"Yeah, dude, you just made a bad situation a lot worse," Lor added.  
  
"Your negative attitudes aren't helping the matter either, you know. If worse comes to worse you could always ask Rhett, Hans, or Earl. I'm pretty sure that those guys don't have dates either."  
  
"I'll skip the dance entirely before asking one of those guys to the dance," Lor commented.  
  
"Yeah I agree. Those guys are even bigger geeks than me," Tish said.  
  
"And you two call me superficial," Carver mumbled.  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"Oh nothing, I'm just thinking out loud. Look, you just need to swallow your pride and ask someone. Wouldn't not going to the dance be even worse than going with some loser?"  
  
"I guess you're right, but still it's hard to ask someone when your entire being is telling you that you'll regret it," Tish commented.  
  
"Totally. I know the laws of physics just say that a jock like myself shouldn't ask a geek to the dance," Lor said.  
  
"Well, I can't really argue that point, but still if you need to defy physics than so be it. Throwing away the laws of physics is better than invoking uncoolness by not going to the dance."  
  
"Maybe so, I'm not really sure on all of this. I'm only sure of one thing right now," Lor commented.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"I'm sure that I have to use the bathroom. I'll be right back."  
  
"I'm so glad you decided to share that with us," Tish said sarcastically.  
  
"Anytime, Tish!" Lor called out as she walked away.  
  
Carver took a sip of his chug-a-freez when suddenly an idea struck him.  
  
"Hey, I just thought of something. I know that it breaks the rules and all, but what about Tino?"  
  
Tish's eyes went wide and she sat straight up in her chair.  
  
"Well, judging by your reaction that idea doesn't seem to fly with you. I guess you're right it probably would be odd asking him wouldn't it?" Carver commented.  
  
Tish became flustered since Carver had misinterpreted her response. "N-no, I d-didn't mean to give you that impression."  
  
Carver gave her a look and asked, "So you would ask Tino?"  
  
Tish panicked. "I-I don't know if I w-would, but, you know, if worse came to worse then I might, wouldn't, probably, couldn't, uhhh, I can't say."  
  
Tish smiled wide trying to cover herself, but she became more nervous the longer Carver stared at her not saying anything.  
  
"You know if I didn't know any better I would have to say it seems like you have a thing for Tino, but that couldn't-"  
  
"Don't tell, Lor!" Tish blurted out in a panic.  
  
"Don't tell Lor what?"  
  
Tish froze suddenly realizing what had just happened.  
  
"Uhhh, nothing. Absolutely nothing." Tish felt her face getting redder as the smile on Carver's face got bigger.  
  
"Heh heh hahaha HAHA!" Carver's laugh rang out.  
  
Tish covered her face and felt like dropping off the face of the Earth.   
  
"Well I'll be damned, you like Tino. I'm not sure whether to mock you, or to be amazed at the number of rules I think you're breaking," Carver commented.  
  
"Look, I know this isn't an easy situation to comprehend, but you have to do me one favor. You can't tell Lor, and you especially can't tell Tino."  
  
"No problem. Are you afraid that Tino won't be very receptive of your feelings?" Carver asked.  
  
"Actually, I have reason to believe that he might also feel something for me."  
  
"Really? He must hide it pretty well then 'cause I know I've never noticed."  
  
"Well, obviously he wouldn't show it in front of you or Lor because he knows that you two would ridicule him."  
  
"Very good point, but I still find it hard to believe that Tino might have feelings for you."   
  
"How come you can believe that I like Tino, but you find it difficult to believe that Tino likes me?" Tish asked a tad indignant.  
  
"I don't know I just do. It's an odd feeling, that's all."  
  
"That's a pitiful answer. Look, just make sure to keep it to yourself, okay?"  
  
"Fine, I already said I would. You have my absolute word."  
  
"Thanks, Carver."   
  
A few seconds later, Lor came back to the table and sat down again.  
  
"Geez, Lor, did you fall in or something?" Carver asked.   
  
"You know as well as I that girls always take a long time in the bathroom," Lor responded.  
  
"So, how about we head on home now?" Tish offered.  
  
"But I haven't finished my chug-a-freez yet," Lor protested.   
  
"Well, next time hurry up in the bathroom, and then you can finish it here. Just take it with you," Carver commented.  
  
Lor grumbled in acquiescence.  
  
The three walked along to their houses while Lor and Tish still discussed their woes of the pending dance. Carver offered his advice to no avail, he could barely take listening to both of them sulking. Soon his problems were eased slightly as they reached Tish's house, and so he would only have to put up with Lor now.  
  
"I'll see you guys tomorrow," Tish said.   
  
"Yeah, see ya then," Lor responded.  
  
Tish turned to Carver and whispered, "And remember our secret."  
  
Carver nodded and waved as she walked up the path to her house.  
  
"So, Carver, what are the chances that I'll be able to find a good date for this dance?" Lor asked as they continued on their way.  
  
"Well, given the time left, your negative attitude, and your abrasive personality, I would say about one in ten thousand."  
  
"Gee, what great odds."  
  
"I forgot your recent delve into sarcasm make that one in a hundred thousand."  
  
"What?! Dude, some people enjoy sarcasm."  
  
"I'll agree with that if by some you mean one. The only person you could hook with sarcasm would be Tino."  
  
"Really?! You think he would fall for sarcasm?!" Lor blurted out with excitement.  
  
She quickly covered her mouth hoping it would somehow erase her enthusiastic outburst.   
  
"Déjà vu," Carver thought to himself.  
  
Lor decided that she should try and cover herself. "Wow, who just called out? It seems that someone is listening in on our conversation. Well, that creep had better hope I don't find them."  
  
Lor could feel Carver's eyes burning into her.  
  
"That is, without a doubt, the lamest cover up I have ever heard."  
  
"Look, it's not what you're thinking."  
  
"Oh yeah? Well, I'm thinking that you have a thing for Tino."  
  
"Okay, it is what you're thinking. I know that it probably sounds weird seeing as I'm a jock and Tino is a geek."  
  
"Oh it's weird for more reasons then just that."  
  
"Okay! I realize that it breaks a few rules, but still I can't deny it."  
  
"Uh-huh, and what makes you think that Tino will go for this?"  
  
Lor smiled slightly. "I'll have you know that there is evidence that shows he likes me too."  
  
Carver was a bit taken aback and thought, "Both Lor and Tish thinks Tino likes them? Is this some type of joke or something?"  
  
"Don't look so surprised. It's not that hard to believe he might like me is it?"  
  
"Yes, yes it is hard to believe. We are talking about Tino here. A best friend of mine who has never said one word about something of this nature to me."  
  
"Pffft, of course he wouldn't tell you. Tino is more than aware that you would completely make fun of him for it."   
  
"Too true, but what makes you think that I won't make fun of you about it?"  
  
"Because you know that I will beat you to bejeezus and back if you do." Lor held up a fist to emphasize her answer.  
  
Carver took a step back. "Point well taken. You can put that fist away now."  
  
"Can you please do me one favor, though?"  
  
Carver let out a small sigh. "Don't tell Tish or Tino, right?"  
  
"Yeah, how did you know?"  
  
"Sometimes the answers just crash down from Heaven. Don't worry your secret's safe with me."  
  
Lor released a sigh of her own."Thanks..., but if you go back on that promise be aware of the consequences." She punched the palm of her hand to make her point clear.  
  
"You know I never thought that being your friend could get so dangerous."  
  
"I'm not dangerous......just so long as you don't cross me."  
  
Carver rolled his eyes as the two continued on to their houses. Lor mentioned a few more things about the dance, but Carver had no idea what she was saying. His mind was elsewhere as he continued to think about what he had heard that day.  
  
"Not only do Tish and Lor both like Tino, but each seem convinced that the feeling is mutual. Maybe I need to start paying more attention to Tino and the way he acts around girls. I could learn a thing or two apparently. Hmmm, this spread of love could make things quite interesting around here." Carver smiled to himself. "No, it will be interesting around here because now I hold all the cards. This is going to be fun."  
  
End of Chapter Four  
  
It's fun being in a position like Carver's. At least I think it is. Anyway, things should really start getting nuttier and interesting so stay tuned and keep reading. 


	5. Unluck of The Draw

Change Has Come - Chapter Five: Unluck of The Draw  
  
"I'm sorry, Tino, but I can't hang out today. I have to homework to do, and I have some chores to do," Carver said over the phone.  
  
"Man, we haven't really hung out in like two weeks. I can't believe this," Tino lamented.  
  
"I know, I know, but I have to do this stuff. Hey, I'll see you at the dance tomorrow, right?"  
  
"Maybe. I have to hope that I can find someone to go to the dance with. Hopefully, today will be the day."  
  
"I'm sure it will be, T. Just be positive and not so neurotic."  
  
"Being neurotic is in my blood. It's hard to ignore that, but I'll try my best."  
  
"Good luck, and later days."  
  
"Thanks, later days."  
  
Carver hung up the phone and noticed his mom peering over the top of the paper at him.   
  
"Is there something on my face or am I just that good looking?" Carver asked.  
  
Carver's mom shook her head for moment. "I'm just curious as to when you started offering to do fake chores and to not procrastinate with your homework instead of going out on Saturday."  
  
"I never started and I never will. I just needed a good alibi for why I can't hang out today."  
  
"I don't understand this at all. Why would you not want to go out with your friends?"  
  
"Oh, I have my reasons. My absence today should make for an interesting outing for the rest of the group. Verrrry interesting, heh heh heh haha HAha, oh, was I doing that out loud?"  
  
Carver's mom shook her head again. "Sometimes I worry about you, honey."  
  
"Don't worry. I think it's just a phase. If you need me I'll be in my room polishing my shoes."   
  
"Alright then, sweetie, I'll see you at supper."  
  
"Okay then, we'll all meet there. See ya then," Tish said.  
  
"Okay, see ya," Tino said on the other end of the phone line.  
  
Tish hung up her phone, and smiled to herself. "This makes things easier. If only Lor is around, it will be easier for Tino to open up, and for me to get a date with him to the dance."  
  
She stroked her chin thinking more intently about her plan of action.  
  
"Hmmm, I suppose the best way to go about this is to be discreet. I'll subtly hint to him that he and I should go to the dance."  
  
Tish laughed devilishly, pleased with her planning.   
  
She suddenly stopped and thought, "I can't get too cocky. I still have to make sure that Lor doesn't figure anything out. At least Lor isn't the quickest person around."  
  
Tish hated to think of Lor in such a negative fashion, but the situation made it necessary to consider.  
  
"Hmmm, I do feel like I'm kind of deceiving her by trying to keep her in the dark, but it's necessary. I don't want her to mock Tino and me."  
  
Tish took a deep breath and strengthened her resolve telling herself that she was making the right decision by not telling Lor about her feelings.  
  
"Yes, this is the right thing to do. It would be more painful to tell her than it is to keep it from her."  
  
Tish took one more deep breath for assurance and left her room with a grin on her face. Now was the time when she would enact her plan.  
  
"So then it's just me, you, and Tish? Okay, that's fine. I'll see you at the mall," Lor said as she hung up the phone.  
  
She pumped her fist in the air, excited that Carver would not be making the trip with them. If she had to endure any more of his gloating about the dance then she would go ballistic and kill him. Her excitement faded as she realized Carver's lack of presence put a bit of a kink in her plans.  
  
"Oh man, I was supposed to get Carver to lure Tish away while I made my move. Now what do I do? Hmmm, well I guess I could always just lure her away myself. Yeah, that's it! I'll just lie a little to make her head off somewhere leaving Tino and me alone."  
  
Lor chuckled to herself in a slightly evil manner.  
  
"Although I have to wonder, is it right of me to lie to Tish? ......Yes, it is. We all tell little lies to her and to each other all the time. This is just drip in the ocean."  
  
Lor whistled a happy tune as she got her money together. Once she got it all together she went over her plan in her head once more.   
  
"I just gotta be direct about it. Lure Tish away, then I say to Tino 'I like you. Let's go to the dance.' No goofin' around, no underhanded business aside from the lying. Sounds like a plan."  
  
Lor took a deep breath and marched happily out the door assured that this would work.  
  
Tino paced at the entrance to the mall waiting for the arrival of Tish and Lor. Every five seconds or so, Tino would check his watch growing more impatient with each passing moment.  
  
"Where are those two? We are missing valuable date finding time. This is getting ridiculous. The mall is going to close by the time they get here."  
  
He paced a bit more getting more and more anxious. Finally, he looked up and saw Lor and Tish approaching from both sides.  
  
"Where have you two been?! I've been waiting, and waiting, and waiting. This is a time sensitive case we are dealing with," Tino said anxiously.  
  
"Calm down, Tino. It takes time to get ready, you have to have some patience," Tish commented.  
  
"Yeah, dude, it's no need to panic. We're here now, so let's get in there and get searching," Lor added.  
  
Tino needed no further convincing and was off into the mall with Tish and Lor quickly catching up to his pace.  
  
"I've noticed that you two seem to be much more cheerful today than yesterday afternoon. What happened between then and now?"  
  
"Well, I don't know about Tish, but I know that I'm feeling happy because I can almost guarantee that I'm gettin' a date today," Lor answered.  
  
"Wow, what a coincidence, that's the same reason why I'm happy!" Tish commented.  
  
"That is odd. So you two, who are the guys that you are almost certain will be your dates?"  
  
Both chuckled for a moment.  
  
"I can't say, it's a surprise," Tish said with a smile.  
  
"Same here," Lor added also with a smile.  
  
Tino sighed, "Fine, keep it to yourselves, but tell me this is it someone I know?"  
  
Both girls chuckled again.  
  
"Oh I know you know this guy. You see him almost everyday," Tish said amongst the chuckling.  
  
"Same here again," Lor chuckled.  
  
"I see. And what is so funny about all of this? Is this some type of joke? Or are you just laughing about he fact that I will be the only one who won't have a date?" Tino asked.  
  
"It's nothing, Tino, just a fit of the giggles. Forget about it," Tish commented.  
  
"I have to forget it. I can't have anything ruining my concentration today," Tino said.  
  
"I think you need to relax a bit. You are way too uptight about this," Lor commented.  
  
"Yeah, just take a deep breath, it will be fine," Tish added.  
  
"You'll get a date," Lor and Tish said in unison while grinning ear to ear.  
  
The two stared at each other surprised by the coincidental timing.  
  
"Synchronized," Tino said calmly.  
  
The three continued their walk through the mall eventually coming to a stop at the atrium for a round of chug-a-freezes. It had been a mere week earlier that Tino and Tish were there looking for dates.  
  
"You know I think that you girls are right. I think that I will get a date today. Yeah, there's definitely a vibe in the air," Tino commented as they sat around the table with their chug-a-freezes.  
  
Tish quickly sat upright and thought, "I think Tino just sent me a signal. That sounded like a subtle comment that he knows he is going to ask me to the dance. I'll have to let him know I understand."  
  
She cleared her throat and said, "Definitely. Why I bet your date to the dance is right under your nose, right in front of your eyes, you just might not recognize it."  
  
Tish followed up by quickly winking at Tino.  
  
Lor took notice and began thinking anxiously to herself, "What was that about? That traitor! I knew Carver couldn't keep his mouth shut. He must have told Tish. At least, she is trying to help me out by nudging Tino towards me. I'll still make sure to give Carver a piece of my mind when I see him. Hmmm, even if Tish knows I'd still feel awkward being direct with her around."  
  
"Hey Tish you got something in your eye? It was flickering a minute ago," Tino commented.  
  
Both Lor and Tish let out a silent sigh that Tino was unable to pick up on the signal.   
  
"Tish's help didn't seem to work. I guess I just have to rely on myself to do this. So that means it's time to ditch Tish," Lor thought.  
  
"Hey Tish, I uhh, just saw that Strings 'N Things is having a one day sale today. You should check that out while Tino and I stay here and wait for you," Lor said a bit stiffly.  
  
"Strings 'N Things is having its one day sale tomorrow not today," Tish commented.  
  
"No, it's today alright. I'm sure about it."  
  
"Yeah, well the big poster in their window right behind you begs to differ."  
  
Lor turned around slowly and saw the enormous poster boldly stating that the sale was in fact the next day.  
  
"That's right the sale was at, uhhh, Rings 'N Things. You know it's that jewelry store that, uhhh, just opened up downtown."  
  
Tino and Tish stared at Lor, but decided to let it go.  
  
"Ohh, this isn't good. Tino completely missed my first comment. Maybe I was too subtle or maybe I was too blunt and he thought Lor was on to us. Oh I don't know! I've got to think of something fast," Tish thought.  
  
On the other side of the table Lor was thinking similar things. "Oh man, Tish completely botched my plan right there. I thought she was trying to help me. She is a tricky one that, Tish. Maybe I can wait till she goes to the bathroom. No, she never uses these bathrooms. I need to come up with some type of plan, quick."  
  
Inspiration struck both girls at the same time. Both opened their mouths to speak, but were cut off by an approaching voice.  
  
"Hi guys," it said.  
  
The three turned their heads to see Dot Cardigan.  
  
"Hi Dot," they all answered.  
  
"Hey Tino?" Dot asked a bit shyly.  
  
"Yeah?" Tino answered.  
  
"Ummm, I was curious if you had a date to the dance or not."  
  
"No, I'm still dateless, unfortunately."  
  
Dot's face seemed to brighten at his response. Both Lor and Tish noticed it, and they knew what was coming next. Each one wanted to somehow stop the current conversation, but neither could think of a way to do it.  
  
"Well then how would you like to go to the dance with me?" Dot asked.  
  
Between her question and the light in Tino's eyes Tish and Lor wanted to die.  
  
"Sure! I'll go with you," Tino replied excitedly.  
  
"That's great! I'm sure we will have a fantastic time. I'll see you tomorrow then," Dot said as she walked away.  
  
Tino smiled and waved goodbye.  
  
"Dot Cardigan, how come I never thought of asking her? You know what I think it was? She was too obvious a choice. It's just like you said, Tish, right under my nose and I had no idea until today. Nothing like a successful day."  
  
Lor and Tish both grumbled an agreement. Tino was so overcome with joy that he became completely oblivious to Lor and Tish's regression into a funk.  
  
"I tell ya, I can't wait to tell Carver about this," Tino commented as he kicked his feet up and drank his chug-a-freez.  
  
Tish paced around in her room trying to keep herself busy, but it failed to keep her mind busy.  
  
"I can't believe this. Tino is going to the dance with Dot Cardigan. It should be me out on that dance floor with Tino tomorrow night. This isn't fair!"  
  
Tish sat down on her bed to sulk some more.  
  
"And the look in his eyes when she asked him to the dance, oh it was terrible! I guess he likes her and not me like I had thought."  
  
Tish put her head in her hands and thought some more to try and ease her racing mind.  
  
"I know what he sees in Dot. It's her nice outfits and accessories. I could spend money like that if I wanted to, I'm just more frugal."  
  
Tish slowly began to rekindle her spirit and determination.  
  
"That's it. He may be interested in Dot, but I'm still falling for him so I won't give up. I'll buy a real nice dress and things and really wow him at that dance tomorrow. That lousy Dot Cardigan, two can play her money game."  
  
Tish grinned evilly. "It's time for Operation: Steal Tino From Dot!"  
  
Tish rubbed her hands together and laughed an uncharacteristically evil laugh.   
  
Lor repeatedly punched her pillow imagining it was Dot Cardigan.  
  
"I can't believe she stole Tino away."  
  
Lor punched the pillow one more time. "And I can't believe Tino let himself be taken away. I guess this is going to be harder than I thought."  
  
Lor thought about it and began punching her pillow again.  
  
"Now if life were easy, my feelings for Tino would just vanish now since he is in Dot Cardigan's spell, but nooooo I'm still in love with him."  
  
Lor pulled herself away from her pillow so she wouldn't punch through it, and she sat on the edge of her bed.  
  
"I think I know what he sees in her. She is more of a girly-girl. Walking around with her hair all up in the air, I could do that too, but I just don't want too. Well, we'll see who walks away with Tino at the end of the night tomorrow."  
  
The spark of competition that shined in Lor's eyes before a big game was burning brightly now.  
  
"Tomorrow at the dance, I'm gonna take Dot out and then with no one in my way I'll win Tino over. I'm going to call this Operation: Damn Dot Cardigan, Tino is Mine and I Will Prove It."  
  
An evil smile spread across Lor's face as she pounded the palm of her hand imagining the dance the next night.  
  
End of Chapter Five  
  
I don't think I've written any chapter so far that jumps between locations as many times as this one did. Regardless, I think it's a necessary evil so you know where Lor and Tish are coming from. That's all I've got for this chapter so keep readin' and reviewin'. 


	6. Dancing Mad

Change Has Come - Chapter Six: Dancing Mad  
  
A smile grew ten feet wide on Carver's face and he found himself having a hard time stifling any laughter.  
  
"Let me get this straight. Tish, you are going to the dance tonight with Rhett, and Lor, you are going to the dance with Hans?"  
  
The two girls looked down at the floor, and nodded that it was true. Both were none too happy with the way things had turned out.   
  
"Hahaha. You scoffed the other day at those two and now look, you're going with them to the dance tonight," Carver laughed.  
  
Tish and Lor both gave evil looks to Carver quickly silencing his laughter.   
  
"If you don't mind me asking, why the change of heart?" Carver asked as if he didn't already know.  
  
"Oh, I have a few things I need to see to at the dance," Tish said.  
  
"Yeah, me too. I have to 'take care' of a few things at the dance as well," Lor agreed, but with a devious smile.  
  
"I see. Well, just so long as you're goin'. The four of us haven't hung out in a couple weeks," Carver commented.  
  
"Very true, so let's go pick up Tino and be on our way," Lor said.  
  
"Just let me run to the bathroom real quick, okay?" Tish asked.  
  
"Sure, just don't take as long in there as Lor does," Carver replied.  
  
As soon as he finished his sentence Carver could feel Lor's eyes burning him into ashes.   
  
He turned to her and said, "If looks could kill, you would be guilty of genocide right about now."  
  
Lor was less than amused by him. "You know I oughta pound you into next week, Carver."  
  
Carver's eyes widened, afraid that she would really do it.   
  
"It was just a joke, Lor. You did take a long time in the bathroom the other day. Lighten up a bit."  
  
"That's not what I'm talkin' about. I mean how you betrayed my trust and told Tish that I like Tino."  
  
"What are you talking about? I never told her anything. This is the first time I've talked with her since Friday."  
  
"Really? You aren't lying to me, right?"  
  
"I'm telling you the truth! Do you honestly think I would endanger my life by going back on our promise? I know what you could do to me. I remember what you did to Nail that one time."  
  
Lor reflected, "Ahhh, a classic one-two combo."  
  
Carver cringed a bit just recalling the incident and imagining the same happening to himself.  
  
Lor snapped back into reality. "Well, just remember to not tell her anything, got it?"  
  
"Yes, yes. I know, just keep your fists to yourself," Carver said exasperated.  
  
"Wait a minute, if Tish doesn't know I like Tino then her winking must mean... she really did have something in her eye! Man, I hate it when something gets in my eye," Lor commented thinking aloud.  
  
Carver just stared at her not even wanting to know.  
  
"Hey guys, let's get on to Tino's," Tish said as she re-entered the room.  
  
"Man, what is it with you girls and your long time in the bathroom? I'll never understand," Carver commented shaking his head.  
  
"Yeah, I'll agree you never will understand women," Tish snapped back.  
  
Carver mumbled inaudibly as he led the way out of his house.  
  
Tino raced around his room making sure that his usual formal event ensemble was together and ready for action.  
  
"The guys will be here any minute, and I'm not ready at all. I spent too much time getting myself prepared to try and hold a real conversation with Dot," Tino worried.  
  
Panicked, he hustled to get in his pants while trying not to fall flat on his back. Tino got one leg through and hopped around his room on the other trying to balance himself.   
  
"Almost got it, annnnd...... Whoa!"  
  
Tino tripped over the pant leg and sent himself hurling to the ground.  
  
"Owww, that really hurt," Tino said aloud as he rubbed his back.  
  
The door to the room swung open, and Tino's mom stepped in with a worried look on her face.  
  
"Are you okay? I heard a loud bang come from up here."  
  
"Well, I might have broken my spine, but nothin' too serious. It's these pants, I tripped over the leg while I was putting them on," Tino answered.  
  
"Do you want me to help you get dressed?" Tino's mom asked.  
  
"C'mon, mom! I'm not three years old. I'm just a bit anxious is all."  
  
"You being anxious is nothing new. I'm going to guess that this time it's because you think you'll make a fool of yourself when talking and/or dancing with your date."  
  
"Oh no! Dancing! I never thought about that. I don't know how to dance."  
  
"Tino, you're going to a dance. How could you not think about dancing?"  
  
"This is going to be a complete disaster. Words will stick in my mouth and my feet will stick to the floor."  
  
"It won't be that bad, sweetie. It's not like you don't know Dot. You've talked with her before. It should be no problem conversation will just come to you. As for dancing, that isn't a big deal either. All it requires is you moving like you have a bug in your pants, anybody can do it. Not only that but you have the traditional family dance to back you up."  
  
Tino shuddered a bit. "Please don't remind me of that. Well, that's fine and all, but what about the dancing that really counts, you know, slow dancing."  
  
"That's simple. I think you're too young for it, and I forbid you from getting that close."  
  
"What?! I can't believe this! I mutiny! Do you hear me?! Mutiny!"  
  
"Calm down, Tino. I'm just kidding. You'd think after all these years you would know when I'm joking."  
  
"I'm worried as it is, I can't take your joking right now. It's gonna give me a heart attack."  
  
"Okay, okay. I'll let you finish getting ready. Just remember take deep breaths, everything will be fine."  
  
"Yeah right," Tino mumbled as his mom left.  
  
He continued getting prepared rushing around making sure he was clean and presentable.   
  
"Okay, let me make sure I did everything. I got my shirt on, pants on, belt on, shoes on, shoes polished, deodorant applied, hair combed, teeth brushed, watch on, pen in pocket, mint in pocket, paper bag in pocket just in case. All right, I think I'm ready....... I'd best check everything again just to be safe."  
  
"You're obsessing," his mom called from somewhere.  
  
"You're eavesdropping," Tino called back.  
  
"I'm your mother, can't help it," she called again.  
  
Tino grumbled a bit and decided to heed his mom's advice and just take a deep breath, not a cleansing one, but a deep one.  
  
"Hmmm, that does work pretty well. Okay, Tino, you can do this. You've talked to Dot before this is no problem. No problem, just like talking to anyone else. No worries, no worries, no worries," Tino thought to himself as he took another deep breath.  
  
At that moment the doorbell rang throughout the house.   
  
"That must be the guys. Alright, time to ride," Tino thought.  
  
Tino ran down to the door passing his mom along the way.   
  
"Remember deep breathes, honey. Everything will be okay," his mom said as he passed.  
  
Tino swung the door open and sure enough there was Carver, Lor, and Tish.  
  
"Ready to go, T?" Carver asked.  
  
"As ready as I'll ever be."  
  
The walk to the dance grated on Tino, Tish, and Lor's nerves as they all had to endure Carver's incessant babbling about his great social skills, and how he was going to rock the dance.  
  
"So like I was saying after I'm appointed as Lord of the Dance I think I'll let all my loyal subjects bring me punch from the punch table. Then I think I'll eat until I'm declared Lord of the Gluttony," Carver boasted.  
  
"Somebody kill me now," the others moaned.  
  
The school was like a beacon of hope for Tish, Tino, and Lor as they walked up its steps.   
  
"Finally, we're here," Tish said with a glimmer in her eye.  
  
Once inside the four dispersed to find their respective dates, but Lor and Tish made sure to keep Tino in the corner of their eye. Tino gazed nervously at all the different crowds of kids trying to find Dot amongst one of them. He couldn't seem to spot her anywhere. Suddenly, a hand came down on his shoulder from behind, and let out a squeal that made a few kids turn and look at him.   
  
"Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," came Dot's voice from behind him.  
  
"N-No, it's okay. I-I'm fine, really," Tino stuttered.  
  
"Teeheehee, you're really cute when you're nervous like this."  
  
Tino's face turned tomato red, "T-t-t-that's very kind of you to s-say."  
  
Dot giggled again. "Well, come on let's go get some punch before we dance."  
  
"Geeehhh," Tino babbled in reply.  
  
Dot grabbed Tino by the hand and led him off making his eyes go wide as saucers. Both Lor and Tish were none too pleased with what they saw and decided it was time to activate phase one of their plans.   
  
"And Hans thought he was going to beat my level 12 warlord with his level 10 wizard. Can you believe that?" Rhett asked Tish.  
  
"No, no I can't. You know I have to go freshen up. I'll be right back," Tish answered.  
  
"Okay, when you get back I'll tell you more."  
  
Tish shuddered a bit. "Grrreat," she said sarcastically.  
  
Meanwhile Lor was listening to an equally engaging speech.   
  
"Can you believe how lucky I am? I mean my name is Hans! It's so close to Han like Han Solo. I wish my last name was 'Olo' then I would Hans Olo. How cool would that be?" Hans gushed.  
  
Lor just stared back at him blankly.  
  
"Uh, Lor? Lor? Did you hear me?" Hans asked.  
  
"Umm, yes. I have to use the bathroom now," Lor answered quickly taking her leave.  
  
Once inside the girls' lavatory Lor entered a stall to enact her first phase while completely unaware that moments earlier Tish had entered the stall next to her. Tish reached into her purse and pulled out some gold bracelets and rings and slipped them on.   
  
"Heh, I can buy nice things too, Dot. Let's just see if Tino can resist these expensive beauties," Tish thought to herself.  
  
Meanwhile in the next stall, Lor began redoing her hair in the same style that Dot always had hers.   
  
"I may feel ridiculous like this, but if this is the style Tino likes than this is the style Tino gets," Lor thought to herself.  
  
Simultaneously, Tish and Lor exited their stalls and caught a glimpse of each other. The two stared at each other with vacant expressions. A moment of silence passed between the two before Tish spoke flatly.  
  
"Nice hair. It's different for you."  
  
"Thank you. Nice jewelry. I didn't know you wore any," Lor responded equally as flat.  
  
Tish simply nodded in response and both walked out saying nothing more. The two split and went to opposite sides of the room. Each caught sight of Tino standing in the middle of the punch table trying his best to converse with Dot. Lor moved in first to try and win Tino over. She pretended that she was just getting punch and hadn't even noticed the two.   
  
"Lor, is that you?" Tino asked incredulous.  
  
"Hmm? Oh Tino. I didn't even notice you there. How are you doing?" Lor answered.  
  
"Uh, fine. What's with the hair?"  
  
"Oh well, I decided to try something new. Don't you like it?"  
  
"I guess it's okay, but it doesn't really suit you, I think. I like your other hair styles better to be honest."  
  
Lor froze for a second, not sure of what to do now.   
  
"Oh, I think it looks very nice myself. It looks cute on you, Lor. You should do your hair up like that more often. It gives you a more feminine look," Dot said cheerfully.  
  
"Thank you so much," Lor responded through a fake smile.  
  
"Hey, I've got a great idea. You and me can go shopping sometime and pick out some really nice stuff. It'll be lots of fun," Dot offered enthusiastically.  
  
"That...sounds...wonderful," Lor said through clenched teeth.  
  
Tino gave her an odd look as she picked up her punch and left them alone. Lor continued wearing her fake smile as she retired to the side of the room. Tish watched from the other side of the room glad that Lor had finally left. Now she walked in to the center, and made sure to show off her hands as she got her punch.   
  
"Hey Ti- Wow! Look at that jewelry!" Tino gasped.  
  
Tish smiled to herself. "Oh you like them? I picked them up at Rings 'N Things. Very expensive, but the money isn't important."  
  
"They're nice and all, but don't you think you could have spent the money better? I mean, I always respected your ability to be smart with your money unlike Carver say," Tino replied.  
  
Tish's smile quickly faded away.   
  
"Loosen up, Tino. I think your jewelry looks very pretty, and sometimes I think you have to indulge a little especially if you are tight with money because then you deserve it," Dot commented.  
  
"Aren't you so kind?" Tish said with a twinge of anger.  
  
"You know, you do have a point there, Dot. I never thought about it that way," Tino said smiling at Dot.  
  
Dot smiled back and it ripped Tish apart.   
  
"Hey let's go dance now, Tino," Dot said pulling him along.  
  
Tino's momentary confidence disappeared as he was dragged away. Tish crushed the cup after she finished her punch imagining it was Dot, and even Tino a little.  
  
"You do have a point there Dot," Tish said mockingly.  
  
She grumbled a bit more as she walked back to her side of the room. After two hours, Tino was seated on at the dancefloor's side while Dot hit the little girls' room. Carver approached Tino with a sour look, and then slammed himself down into the chair next to him.  
  
"Something wrong, Carv?" Tino asked.  
  
"Yeah, everything is wrong. My date left me, this music is terrible, the punch is thin, the food is nasty, and this monstrosity is only half over. I didn't need to pay to have a bad time. I could've just banged my head against a wall. It would have been free and I probably would have had a better time," Carver responded with his usual pizzazz.  
  
"Well, my night hasn't been that bad. Sure the music is making my ears bleed, the punch has no punch, the food tastes like my mom's cooking and looks even worse, but my date hasn't left me. So I guess I'm one up on you."  
  
Carver shook his head a bit and then asked, "So what are you up to now?"  
  
"Oh, I'm just waiting for Dot to get back. I'm still dreading the slow dance," Tino responded.  
  
"Man, the slow dance. That's where I was going to shine. It's just a lost dream now," Carver said in a quiet, wistful manner.  
  
Tino just stared at him for a moment.   
  
"Well, I'm gonna go see if Tish and Lor are as miserable as I am," Carver commented.  
  
"Yeah, you best check on them. They were acting odd earlier."  
  
"Somehow that doesn't surprise me, I'll go take a look into it, though."  
  
"Alright, I'll catch up with you later."  
  
Carver gave a half-hearted wave as he left.   
  
Tino sat back for a moment and thought to himself, "Man, this dance really is ridiculous. I could have just hung out with Dot elsewhere, not have paid so much money, and I wouldn't be getting tortured by horrible music."  
  
Dot reappeared and grabbed Tino by the hand and whisked him away back into the dance with a smile. Meanwhile Carver found Tish and Lor sitting on the other side of the dance floor, both being bored to tears by their dates.   
  
"Hey you two," Carver interjected into each conversation.  
  
Lor and Tish immediately excused themselves to talk with Carver in private.   
  
"Finally, I didn't know if I could take another minute listening to Hans," Lor commented.  
  
"I know the feeling. I'm like one of the cool kids next to Rhett," Tish said.  
  
"Yeah, well- Hey, wait a minute. Lor, what's with the hair? And Tish, what's with all the jewelry?" Carver asked.  
  
Tish and Lor looked around nervously trying to think of something to say, but only finding little croaks and squeaks.  
  
Carver sighed. "Nevermind."  
  
"Good album," Lor commented.  
  
Carver gave her a look, but let it go.   
  
"This dance has been terrible. I can't believe I paid money for this," Tish lamented.  
  
"We're all in the same boat. I'm never going to another dance again. They only lead to misery. The only person who is close to having a good time is Tino," Carver mentioned.  
  
A flash of rage passed through the eyes of Lor and Tish at the mention of Tino having a good time. The music in the air suddenly shifted from horrible music to soft and slow, horrible music.   
  
"Sound's like it's time for the slow dance. Look, there goes Dot and Tino out onto the dance floor. Hmmm, it looks like Tino is a nervous wreck," Carver commented.  
  
The girls each made fists and almost had smoke visibly coming out of their ears at this point. Carver looked at the two girls with some concern afraid they would pop.   
  
"Uh, are you two alright?"  
  
"Doin' fine," Lor answered tensely.  
  
"Just peachy," Tish added in the same manner.  
  
"If you guys say so. I'm gonna get some more of the tasteless punch," Carver said as he walked away leaving Tish and Lor seething.  
  
The dance continued on with Carver, Lor, and Tish moping all over the place. Tino on the other hand was dancing all over the place as Dot barely gave him a chance to take a breather. However, Tino didn't mind because he was enjoying his rising confidence and the close contact it offered. Though, he did become inarticulate at some points during dancing. Soon it came to the last dance of the night, a slow dance. As had been the case all night, Tino and Dot were right out on the dance floor in plain view of Tish, Carver, and Lor. The three noticed that during this dance Dot and Tino seemed especially close together. As the dance wound down they moved even closer, and then it hit Lor and Tish at the same time what was going to happen. The two of them were going to kiss. Overcome with fear and jealousy, the two girls charged in without a thought of the consequences. Tish went for Tino, while Lor went for Dot. Tish knocked into Tino and Lor knocked into Dot as they approached the dancing pair. Lor had forgotten that she was holding a cup of punch and it splashed all over Dot.  
  
"AHH! My dress! I can't believe this!" Dot cried out.  
  
Tish and Lor felt like fools, since neither on wanted to cause this much of a mess, and Tino's glare didn't help matters at all for them.   
  
"What's the matter with you two?! Look, at what you have done to Dot," Tino chastised.  
  
He helped Dot up and tried to help her wipe off some of the punch. Tino looked at Lor and Tish again, and just shook his head. Dot held back her tears, and was lead off to the side by a concerned Tino. Slowly, the two girls walked back to where Carver was, though neither one seemed suspicious of the other.  
  
"Well, that certainly was the highlight of this night. I think I just got my money's worth," Carver commented.  
  
Tish and Lor gave Carver a menacing glare.   
  
"Okay, I think I'm done talking now," Carver added.  
  
Everyone began filing out of the school while Carver looked for Tino amongst the crowds, and the girls hung their heads in defeat.   
  
"Man, I can't find Tino anywhere. Maybe someone knows where he is. Hey, Ruby, have you seen Tino?" Carver asked.  
  
"He left about five minutes ago with Dot Cardigan. He's walking her home after those two ruined their moment," Ruby replied.  
  
"Thanks for the help."  
  
Carver went over to the shameful twosome and informed them of the news.   
  
"Looks like it's just us walking home tonight. Now let's get out of here, I've had enough nonsense for one night."  
  
Lor and Tish barely even nodded but they still followed Carver out of the school.  
  
Tino whistled a happy tune as he walked up the steps to his front door. He reached into his pocket and pulled his key out. Tino unlocked the door and paused for a second.  
  
"Hey there. As you can see I'm happier than a clam. It turns out Tish and Lor's craziness helped me score big points with Dot. It was a blessing in disguise. Not only that take a look at this! Yeah, that's right, it's lipstick. Haha, I got myself a memorable first kiss. I'd tell you more, but it's kind of mushy, and I don't like talking about that stuff. Oh wait, I'd better wipe the lipstick off before I go inside. Don't want my mom on my case, you know? I am curious about one thing. What's up with Lor and Tish? It has me baffled, but I will have to thank them next time I see them. Well, later days!"  
  
End of Chapter Six  
  
I would have had this chapter out sooner, but some schoolwork delayed me in writing it. I think it was worth the wait though. This chapter is longer than all the others. On a sidenote, I think I made it clear in this chapter, but dances suck. I hate dances. Don't ever go to one. That's my message for the day. Stay tuned. 


	7. Awfully Thankful

Change Has Come - Chapter Seven: Awfully Thankful  
  
The doors of Bahia High swung open and young Tino Tonitini walked out with his head held high and a kick in his step. He proudly walked out to the front of the school and leaned up against one of the trees.   
  
"Hey there, as you can tell I am in a happy mood. One week makes a lot of difference, I'll tell ya. Let me explain why. This past week news of Dot and me spread all over school, and now we're the hot topic! Can you believe it? This is the closest I've ever been to popularity without negative consequences. On a more unfortunate note, Tish and Lor have been avoiding me all week. I suspect that they think I'm mad at them and they want to avoid confrontation. Ironically, I am very happy with those two and I've been dying to thank them. I got Carver to take Tish and Lor to the pizza place, and I plan to 'accidentally' run into them."  
  
Tino turned around and spied Carver, Lor, and Tish coming out of the school. He quickly pressed up against the tree to make sure that they couldn't see him. He watched as they passed by and he listened in on the conversation.   
  
"So how about we go grab ourselves some pizza? I'm starving, and there is a sweet Friday special going on," Carver offered.  
  
"Yeah sure. I've got nothing else to do today," Lor commented sounding slightly depressed.  
  
"Same here. Might as well do something I like rather than mope around my house," Tish added.  
  
"Geez, you two are impossible! One week, you're all sad because you can't get a date, and this week you're all sad about ruining Tino's special moment. Can't you two just get over this stuff?" Carver asked.  
  
"It's not that easy, Carver. It feels terrible to have made Tino mad. He is our friend after all," Tish responded.  
  
"Yeah, Carver. Your lack of a conscience makes it hard for you to know the feeling," Lor added.  
  
"Hey, I've got a conscience. It just usually is eating when I have decisions to make," Carver fired back.  
  
"So your hunger affects all parts of your being?" Tish asked jokingly.  
  
"No, my mind isn't too much of an eater. He likes to watch his weight."  
  
"No eggs for your brain, eh?" Tish asked.  
  
"Nope, he doesn't really like eggs all that much, or fish for that matter."  
  
Tish shook her head a bit.  
  
Lor's face was awash with puzzlement, "Wait a minute, your brain can eat food? That's really gross and weird!"  
  
Carver and Tish looked at each other, and just kept on walking.  
  
"What? What did I say? Really, what?" Lor questioned as she followed.  
  
Tino stayed pressed up against the tree until they were out of sight.   
  
"Alright, now it's time for me to get some pizza," Tino thought to himself.  
  
He walked off whistling a happy tune to himself.  
  
Carver greedily munched on the gingerbread man eager to get some type of food in his system. Once finished he licked his fingers in a lavish display, and immediately he grabbed another gingerbread man off the nearby Christmas tree. However, just as it was about to enter his mouth, Lor pulled it away from him.  
  
"Sorry, dude, but I have to cut you off. You already polished off three gingerbread men and two Christmas cookies. You won't have any room for the pizza."  
  
"Fine, fine. I love Christmas. Presents, food, specials on TV, and best of all snow days!" Carver exclaimed.  
  
"Some of us don't celebrate Christmas. I guess religious preference means nothing here. And Carver, we don't get snow days. Not only that, but it's September. Christmas isn't for another three months," Tish commented.  
  
"Maybe for the rest of the world, but here at Christmas Pizza, it's Christmas all the time!......Or at least until next weekend."  
  
Tish shrugged her shoulders since she couldn't argue that point. The pizza place did have a Christmas atmosphere. Big Christmas trees fully decorated, presents under each one, snow all over the place, and the owner was dressed up as Santa Claus and his assistant was an elf.  
  
"Ahh, here comes my present," Carver said eyeing up the approaching pizza.  
  
"HO HO HO! Merrrrry Christmas! Since you have been good girls and boy, you get a large pizza. HO HO HO!" the owner bellowed from within the large suit.  
  
"Excuse me, but could I get a candy cane with this?" Carver asked.  
  
The owner turned to him and replied in his usual voice, "You'll poke your eye out, kid."  
  
Carver mumbled a few things and began to chow down. Outside the pizza shop Tino was spying in through one of the windows.  
  
"Okay, they just got their pizza, so they'll be busy eating and won't notice me coming in. They couldn't avoid me forever," he thought to himself.  
  
Tino made sure to walk in casual like he had no idea that they would be there. He entered and looked around a bit pretending to find where he might sit. His eyes came to a stop on Tish, Lor, and Carver.  
  
"Well, if it isn't Lor, Tish, and Carver! How the heck ya been?" Tino exclaimed.  
  
Startled, Lor and Tish choked on the food in their mouths and whirled around to Tino in the same motion. Tino looked back and forth between the two of them gagging.  
  
"Hmmm, maybe that wasn't the best way to greet them," Tino thought to himself.   
  
"Well, since you're here, T. You should join us," Carver offered.  
  
"Don't mind if I do."  
  
Nervous expressions spread across Tish and Lor's faces both feeling awkward around Tino. Both Carver and Tino had to do their best to stifle any laughter at how uncomfortable the girls looked.   
  
Tino turned to the two and wasted no time, "So have you two been? I haven't seen you since the dance."  
  
The girls mentally winced at the mention of the horrid event. Both squirmed in their seats stuttering, looking for a good response.  
  
"Haha, don't hurt yourselves. If you think I'm mad at you, forget about it," Tino said.  
  
"Wha? Wait, you aren't mad?" Lor asked.  
  
"Nope. In fact, I should be thanking you two."  
  
Tish's eyes brightened. "Because you realized you didn't like Dot, and we were actually doing you a favor?"  
  
"No, the complete opposite. I have to thank you two for helping me score big points with Dot. After you ruined our moment, I helped her dry her dress and walk her home. She was so touched by my concern that I got a big kiss from her, and- Wow, Lor your face is really red."  
  
Lor looked like she was going to pop, and her head was boiling.   
  
"You'll have to excuse me for a moment," she said through clenched teeth.  
  
She got up and walked outside the pizza shop in front of the windows. Carver and Tino watched, as it appeared Lor was yelling profanities at the sky.   
  
Tino was perplexed. "Hmm, what's up with her? Hey, Tish do you know what's wrong Lor? Uh, Tish?"  
  
Completely oblivious, Tish continued to bang her head against the table muttering 'unfair' to herself repeatedly.   
  
"I think this might be the oddest responses I've ever received after thanking someone. I usually get a 'your welcome' in response, but this is much more interesting. Though it begs the question, what's the deal with these two." Tino commented.  
  
"Maybe aliens replaced the real Lor and Tish with aliens in Tish and Lor disguises, and they are saying 'your welcome' in their native way," Carver offered.  
  
"Possibly, or maybe they are international spies involved in a worldwide conspiracy that somehow revolves around what I say. Now they are using some type of code to communicate my actions to their secret spy headquarters," Tino guessed.  
  
"That could be it as well. It has to be one of the two, " Carver concluded.  
  
"You know I am still right here. I can hear you," Tish said momentarily stopping from banging her head on the table.  
  
Lor came back into the restaurant and sat down again her face not as red as it was before. "Sorry about that, I burned my mouth on the pizza, had to yell it out, you know," Lor commented.  
  
"Umm, okay. You should try drinking something if you burn your mouth, you might find that a bit more convenient," Tino said.  
  
Both Lor and Tish looked at Tino weakly with the color drained from their faces. Tino looked back and for the between the two a bit concerned with how terrible they looked.   
  
"I'm not sure what the deal is with you two, but thanks a lot. In fact, this Sunday Dot and I are going to the movies. I really owe you two," Tino commented.  
  
Again Lor's face turned bright red and she excused herself once more. Carver and Tino watched as Lor yelled more profanities at the sky outside.  
  
"At least, Tish isn't banging her head against the table this time," Tino said to Carver.  
  
"Yeah, now she is joining Lor outside."  
  
The two boys shook their heads.   
  
"Something must be up with those two......You know I think we had better stop them, I'm not sure the town will take too kindly to people yelling profanities," Tino commented.  
  
"Good point. While you do that, I'll work on this pizza."  
  
"Fine, I'll do it myself. Honestly, I've never met someone with as much of an appetite as you."  
  
"I take that as a compliment."  
  
Tino rolled his eyes and left to go get the girls. Carver watched as Tino began talking with the girls and he could just see the disappointment oozing from their faces.  
  
"Uh-oh, this might be a bad thing. His date with Dot might convince those two that it's hopeless to go after him. I can't let that happen! Things are just starting to get interesting. There is only one thing I can do. Spread lies!"  
  
Carver rubbed his hands together and laughed evilly to himself. He looked out the window at his three friends and smiled wickedly.  
  
End of Chapter Seven  
  
It's a short chapter, I know. It's just to set-up for bigger and better things so don't be discouraged. Like the last chapter this one got delayed because of schoolwork, but now that winter break is here I should get these out faster. Although, I did get sucked into Final Fantasy I while writing this so that slowed me down too, so if I get sucked into another game it maybe slow coming still. I'll try my best though. And finally I'd like to say to everybody: Happy Holidays! Have a good one! 


	8. Everything You Know is Wrong

Change Has Come - Chapter Eight: Everything You Know Is Wrong  
  
Carver paced around in his room trying to figure out how to convince Lor and Tish to still and pursue Tino. Not only was it necessary for his own entertainment, but also he couldn't bare dealing with Tish and Lor in their moping states.  
  
"Lies, lies, lies, I've got to think of some good lies. I can't let such an amusing situation die just yet, but what can I say to the girls that will rebuild their spirits?"  
  
Carver hadn't thought this hard in the longest time and it gave him a slight headache. Slowly, but surely the gears in his head turned and after a few minutes of thinking the light bulb went on.  
  
"I've got it! I'll tell both of them that I talked to Tino last night, and he was hoping he could get female advice about his date that wasn't his mom's. And to ensure it catches their interest I'll mention that he seemed a bit nervous when I brought up the girls' names. Man, I am a genius."  
  
Carver felt proud of his plan and smiled to himself thinking of the humorous scenarios that could develop from this misguided love triangle.   
  
"Ahh, times are good. I have the power and nothing can go wrong. Although I can't help but feel that what I'm doing is unethical. Oh well, I'll just take an ethics class later in life to straighten myself out. Actually, on second thought I don't need ethics."  
  
He picked up the phone and dialed Tish's number as evil thoughts danced in his head.  
  
"Hello?" came the familiar voice.  
  
"Hey Tish. It's me, Carver."  
  
"Hey, so what's up? Calling for some homework help?"  
  
"Not this time. I'm calling about Tino."  
  
"Oh? Tino, huh? What about him?"  
  
Carver could hear the drop in Tish's voice, but he expected it to happen.  
  
"Oh, don't sound all morose because I bring him up. Look, it's actually something that could be beneficial to you."  
  
"Beneficial? Hmm, proceed, you have intrigued."  
  
Carver told Tish the whole fake story and listened for her response. The silence after his lying made Carver a bit uneasy.   
  
"How is this beneficial?" Tish asked.  
  
"What? It's obvious! He got nervous when I mentioned your name. He probably feels awkward talking to you about going out with girls because he would rather be going out with you. He probably thinks that his feelings would get in the way of getting advice from you."  
  
"I don't know. That seems a bit hard to fathom. He seemed pretty confident of himself yesterday."  
  
"No, I must be right! I mean you don't know Tino the way I do. Trust me on this one. It's my male intuition."  
  
"Your male intuition? That doesn't help any, Carver"  
  
"Look, I know you are still falling for Tino, and you won't get him by sitting around at home. You have to take this opportunity. It could be a big breakthrough. You can't win if you don't play, right?"  
  
Another period of silence followed when Carver's words of encouragement finished.   
  
"You're right! I've got to play the game. I'll make sure to seize the opportunity! Thanks, Carver."  
  
"Anytime, Tish. I just like to do my part."  
  
"Alright then I'm off to Tino's. Later days!" Tish said as she hung up.  
  
Carver rubbed his hands together pleased with his skills.  
  
"Ahhh, how sweet it is. Well, that's one down and one to go, and Lor should easier to convince than Tish."  
  
The wicked smile that seemed to be appearing all over the place once again emerged. It stretched itself from ear to ear on Carver's face.   
  
Carver dialed Lor's number all the while thinking, "Carver Descartes, Holder of The Cards."  
  
Tino and his mom sat around their kitchen table with some type of monstrosity that may or may not be food rested in the center.  
  
"You know I can't say I've ever seen a tie-dyed meat before. You may have outdone yourself this time, mom," Tino said staring at 'lunch'.  
  
"Oh honey, there are lots of different foods from all over the world, and some of them come in unusual colors. You shouldn't let colors deter you," his mom responded.  
  
"Okay fine, but what part of the world did this come from and what is it?"  
  
"That's a pretty good question. I'm not sure. I found it in a jar with no label in the back of one of the cabinets. I can't let it go to waste can I?"  
  
Tino's eyes drifted from the food to his mom and back in a horrific state.  
  
"Do you realize you just made the world's most unappetizing food even more unappetizing. It's no wonder I eat so much junk with the guys."  
  
Ms. Tonitini simply shrugged her shoulders and switched topics.  
  
"So I hear you're going out on a date on Sunday."  
  
Tino's face reddened a bit.  
  
"Who told-" he stopped mid-sentence noting the look on his mom's face.  
  
"So when I become a father will I get the mind reading ability as well?"  
  
"No, it's a mothers only power. Now that you have confirmed your date for me, mind telling me about it?"  
  
"It goes like this, tomorrow I'm going to the movies with Dot. She asked me yesterday and I happily accepted."  
  
Tino sat back and smiled just thinking about his date. His mom took note of Tino's dreamy look and decided to inquire a bit more.  
  
"You seem to be quite taken with Dot now. I haven't heard you mention her too much before. What's made you so interested?"  
  
"I'm not too sure myself actually. In fact, I used to find her kind of annoying to tell you the truth. I think over the past few years she has matured and got less irritating."  
  
"Well, that's nice and all, honey, but that really doesn't explain why you like her. That explanation only tells me why you can tolerate her now."  
  
"Well, like I said, I'm not too sure why I like her now. All I know is that ever since she asked me to the dance, I can't stop thinking about her. Is this what it feels like to be in love?"  
  
"It sounds more like what it means to have a crush. Based on what you said it almost seems that the only reason you like Dot is because she likes you. I'm not too sure that that's a good thing."  
  
Tino's face fell and his mother instantly regretted dashing his thoughts of love.  
  
Quickly, she thought of something to say to raise his spirits again, "Of course I could be wrong. In high school there can be an awakening deep inside of the feeling of love, and changes come with it. Perhaps that's why you don't find her as irritating, her love for you has made her more mature and what could be love from you has made you more willing to accept her faults and all."  
  
The light returned to Tino's eyes and his mother was happy, but she added one last piece of advice, "Just remember two things, dear. You're still young, if things don't work out, there will be another chance don't drag yourself down over one mess up. And no matter what you may think or others may say, self-worth isn't based on if a girl likes you or not. You don't need to love for acceptance, you should love because it's true."  
  
"I understand, but c'mon mom, don't be so serious and deep. You know, I find these moments awkward."  
  
"I know, but I have to do my mother's duty. If I don't the Council of Moms will punish me. Oh that reminds me, now that you are going out on dates I think it's time for THE talk."  
  
Tino was suddenly seized with fear, he didn't want to hear this talk from his mom, it was so embarrassing.   
  
"Oh you know I have a lot of stuff planned today, maybe we can schedule this talk some other time like never. I gotta run!"  
  
Tino bolted off to his room and didn't bother to look back.   
  
Lor ran the situation over and over again in her mind and it still didn't make too much sense.   
  
"Why would Tino be looking for female advice about his date? He seemed like he was sure of himself yesterday. Oh well no use thinking about it, Carver is the one who talked with him not me. I'll make sure to take advantage of this opportunity."  
  
She decided to focus on the positive things to build her confidence for meeting with Tino. As Lor turned onto Tino's street she found herself involuntarily taking deep breaths.   
  
"I can do this. No problem, I just gotta be calm and smooth. If I just-"  
  
Lor's thoughts were cut short as she caught sight of Tish walking down the street towards her.  
  
"What is she doing here?! Is she here to see Tino too?! She has no idea how important of a situation this is for me, and it's ruined if she's here."  
  
Tish caught sight of Lor and her eyes grew wide for a moment as similar thoughts passed through her mind as well.   
  
"This is just fantastic Lor's here! Of all the inopportune timing, I can't believe this. I can't make myself seem suspicious though," Tish thought to herself.  
  
She waved to Lor in order to get her attention and called out to her, "Hey there, I didn't realize you would be around here."  
  
Lor answered once closer.  
  
"Yeah, and I didn't know you would be out in this area either."  
  
Tish nodded a little, "True, I'm just coming by to see how Tino's doing what with his first date tomorrow. You know how he worries and all."  
  
"Yeah I know what you mean that's why I'm here too. Gotta make sure he isn't having a nervous breakdown or whatever."  
  
The two nodded at each other trying hard not to show any emotions. All the meanwhile horribly profane language passed through their brains. They approached Tino's house and knocked on the door both now plastered with faux smiles that seemed much more disturbing than unassuming.  
  
Tino answered his door and greeted the two, "Oh hey guys, er, girls. It's nice to see you."  
  
"Hello, it is nice to see you as well," Tish said mechanically still suppressing her inner feelings.  
  
"Yes, Tish is correct. It is nice to see you, especially on such a nice day," Lor added in a similar manner.  
  
Tino looked back and forth at the two a bit freaked out.  
  
"Uh-huh. Well, I'm not sure if it's aliens or spies that are behind your behavior but come on in."  
  
Tino led the way to his room with Tish and Lor following close behind. The smiles plastered on their faces bothered Tino the most.   
  
"Soo, what's up?" Tino asked.  
  
"Oh you know just in the neighborhood and we thought we would see how you were doing. Just to make sure you aren't hyperventilating or obsessing or what have you," Tish commented with Lor nodding vigorously to agree.  
  
"Well, I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" Tino asked curiously.  
  
Both girls were a bit taken aback by his answer. They had been assured by Carver that Tino was looking for some female advice.  
  
"Because of your date since it is your first date, and you might be having second thoughts," Lor offered.  
  
"Second thoughts? This is one of the few times in my life that I'm sure of what I'm doing," Tino responded.  
  
Those words practically ripped the girls' hearts out, threw them on the floor, and stomped on them till they died.   
  
Tish looked for words to cover up her misery, "Are you positively sure that you're okay? You aren't worried that you will choke when talking, or spit up chug-a-freez if she says something funny-"  
  
"Or fumble if she tries to kiss you on the lips, or trip over your own two feet and look like a klutz," Lor interjected.  
  
Tino's eyes grew wider and wider with fear and worries as Lor and Tish continued with their laundry list of potential catastrophes.  
  
"Or maybe...., uh, Tino, are you alright your eyes seem kind of gargantuan?" Tish asked.  
  
"Eep," Tino squeaked.  
  
The girls looked at each other then back at Tino.  
  
"Is there something we can do for you, Tino?" Lor asked.  
  
"Eep," he squeaked again.  
  
"You know, I just remembered I have to get home to help my mom with dinner," Tish said excusing herself.  
  
"Yeah, same goes for me. Uhh, good luck tomorrow, Tino," Lor added.  
  
"Eep" he squeakily replied.  
  
Once the girls were on their way out Tino's house Tish commented to Lor, "Well, I don't think that could have gone any worse."  
  
"Totally. We just wrecked the only confidence Tino has ever had."  
  
"So much for female advice, I guess," Tish commented aloud.  
  
Lor's attention quickly turned to Tish.  
  
"Did you just say female advice?"  
  
Tish instantly remembered that she had wanted to keep that part to herself.  
  
"Um, yes, I was, uh, referring to advice my mom gave me this morning. I'm just rambling thoughts together, no big deal. Haha ha ehh."  
  
Lor gave her a bit of a look.  
  
"I thought you were talking about giving female advice to Tino then I was gonna say hold on one second, you know."  
  
"Yeah, well it has nothing to do with that and- hey wait a minute, is there a problem with giving female advice to Tino? You seem a bit uppity about it."  
  
Lor panicked a bit about making herself seem suspicious.  
  
"Oh nothing. I'm just rambling thoughts together as well. In fact, I don't even really remember what I just said a few moments ago."  
  
The girls stared at each other in an awkward silence.  
  
"I best be going," Tish said tersely.  
  
"Me too," Lor responded quickly.  
  
Both parted ways glad to be out of the awkwardness. However, neither went home without suspicions taking root in their heads.  
  
End of Chapter Eight  
  
Well, I took a bit longer updating than I thought I would. I guess I was wrong in my assumptions that break time would get this done faster. Gaming got me again for the most part. So I'm no longer gonna guess how long it will take me to update because I'll probably be wrong. I'll only say that I hope it doesn't take this long in the future. I just gotta hope lady luck is on my side. Stay tuned and read on. 


	9. Live by The Sword, Die by The Sword

Change Has Come - Chapter Nine: Live by the Sword, Die by the Sword  
  
The phone lines in the Descartes household were getting a serious workout with Carver handling Tish and Lor as best he could. The two girls had been asking questions of him all day trying to figure the story behind the debacle the day before. The confidence levels of Tish and Lor were again at a low. Carver needed to boost their confidence once more. So between questions of his credibility, he slipped in more lies to lure his friends on.   
  
"Trust me, Tino was just playing hard to get yesterday. He can be deceiving when he wants to be. You have to stay on top of this thing," Carver said over the phone.  
  
"I guess, but it's kind of hard when things just seem to keep blowing up in my face. Maybe I should just forget about this whole thing," Lor commented.  
  
"No, you can't do that! Ahem, I mean where's your MacQuarrie pride? You can't give up. You live to win. Are you gonna let some little rich girl steal Tino away from you?" Carver commented like a coach trying to get the team pumped.  
  
"Yeah, what am I talking about? I don't accept lose as an answer! I'll prove myself to be the one for Tino. Dot's got nothing on me," Lor responded with pride.  
  
"That's the spirit. Now let me give you some advice, and- oh hold on I gotta take a call on another line.....Hello?"  
  
"Hi, Carver. It's Tish."  
  
"Oh hey Tish. How's it goin'?" Carver asked nonchalantly.  
  
"Things could be better. I'm still tying my head in knots over this Tino situation. Especially, after yesterday's fiasco thank you very much, Carver."  
  
"Hey, hey I already told you he was just acting. You know, making you sweat a little," Carver said defending himself.  
  
"The only person sweating yesterday was Tino as he went into neurotic mode. Not only that but you weren't even there so how would you know that Tino is just acting?"  
  
"I just know. I know how Tino acts and I can figure this stuff out."  
  
"I know Tino as well, Carver. How come I can't pick up on this stuff?"  
  
"Because it's a guy thing. We're buddies, comrades, amigos. We have a connection. It's something that is not to be questioned."  
  
"Whatever. Look, I'm not so sure about trying to win Tino anymore. I can't get anything done, so I might as well ignore it and hope it goes away," Tish commented her voice weakening towards the end.  
  
"Since when have you become such a quitter? As soon as one thing goes wrong you're ready to give up. It's terrible. You have to keep getting back on the horse that threw ya," Carver said trying to inspire Tish with confidence.  
  
"I guess I would be a hypocrite if I were to ignore that. Yes, I suppose I have to keep trying," Tish responded with life coming back to her voice.  
  
"Of course you have to keep trying. I wouldn't have taken no for an answer."  
  
"Thanks for helping me out in my trying situation, Carver."  
  
"Hey, what are friends for? To help out that's what I say. Now let me give you some advice to- hold on I have to take care of a pest I call Penny."  
  
Carver put the phone down and went out side his room to hear what his sister was yelling to him about.  
  
"Carver, I need to use the phone! Hurry it up!" she yelled.  
  
"I'm in the middle of something so you're just gonna have to wait!" Carver called back.  
  
"I don't have the time for this!" Penny shouted agitated.  
  
"Not my problem! Just use Dad's cell phone!"  
  
"Yeah, but-"  
  
"I'm done listening! I'm going back to my business here!" Carver called out shouting his door.  
  
Satisfied with his keen negotiation skills, Carver waltzed his way back to the phone to dispense his advice. He hummed a whimsical tune to himself and pressed the button for line one.  
  
"So like I was saying I know just what you need to do. You have to be assertive. Be as strong yet subtle as you can possibly be. I know it might be hard for you, Tish, since being assertive or confrontations isn't your strong suit. But I think that this could be great practice for you to learn how to be assertive and such. You know what I mean Tish?"  
  
"My name is Lor," came the icy reply.  
  
Carver's eyes went wide realizing he had mixed up who was on what phone line.  
  
"Haha, uhh, yes it is, I was just, uhh, you know, joking. I was trying to, uhh, see if you noticed I called you Tish," Carver said nervously.  
  
There was silence as Carver gulped hard waiting to hear some type of response.  
  
After what felt like an eternity to Carver, Lor broke her silence, "Your ass is grass!!"  
  
Carver screamed tossing the phone into the air. He scrambled around his room not sure of what to do now that Lor was on the warpath.  
  
"What have I done? She's going to come here and kill me. Oh man, being dead wouldn't be cool at all. I gotta get out of here while I can."  
  
Carver quickly put his shoes on and hurried down the stairs. He was out of the house as fast as he could go and he ran off in the direction opposite of Lor's house to put as much distance as he could between him and Lor.   
  
"Well, so much for my plans. Now I have to make sure Lor doesn't rip me to pieces. I'll just stay away from my house for the next few hours, and hope that Lor leaves before I come back," Carver thought continuing his run.  
  
Lor was fuming as she stormed over to Carver's house ready to wring his neck and pummel him into next week.   
  
"That no good, double crossing, rotten, conspiring, twit. He is so going to get it. So he has been plotting against me all this time. Oooohh! I'm so angry just thinking about it. This beating is well-deserved."  
  
Ready to burst, Lor approached Carver's door and knocked hard. Carver's dad answered a bit surprised by the angry expression on Lor's face.  
  
"Hello Lor," he offered cordially trying to not pay attention to her obvious sentiment.  
  
"Hi Mr. Descartes, is Carver here?" Lor said holding her anger back as she said Carver's name.  
  
"You know I'm not sure. I did hear a lot of running upstairs, but I haven't heard him in a bit. Go on up and check it out."  
  
Lor hurried on up tightening her fists with rage.  
  
"Time to lay down some serious hurt," Lor thought almost taking glee at this point in the punishment she was going to administer.  
  
Once at the door to Carver's room Lor summed up her anger and kicked the door open.   
  
"All right Carver now you're gonna get it!!" Lor yelled upon her entrance.  
  
She looked around and realized Carver wasn't there. She searched in his closets and under the bed, but found neither hide nor hair of Carver.   
  
"That coward. He ran off," Lor hissed to herself.  
  
She gazed around the room her eyes almost glowing red. Then her eyes stopped on one corner of the room. A wicked gleam flashed through Lor's eyes with a plan of revenge firmly taking root.  
  
Lor pulled out her pocketknife thinking, "Carver may not be here, but he left his heart and soul behind. He's gonna find out you never mess with a MacQuarrie."  
  
She lifted the knife up above her head, and then quickly brought it down in a frantic series of stabs. Lor wore a gaze of madness with her arm flailing wildly about stabbing in all directions. She sat back taking a breather from her work. A sound at the door made Lor turn around hoping to see Carver there. Instead it was Penny who stood in the doorway her eyes locked on Lor with her pocketknife in hand.   
  
"Do you mind telling me what you are doing with that knife?" Penny asked.  
  
"Oh, I'm just cutting up some of Carver's shoes," Lor responded like this was commonplace.  
  
Penny just stared at for a few moments making sure she heard her right.  
  
"Well then I just have one thing to tell you.... he hides his most prized shoes in the back of his closet shelf."  
  
Lor's eyes brightened. "Thanks, Penny."  
  
She got up and reached into the back of Carver's closet shelf managing to fish out a few pairs of shoes. With a sweep of her arm she knocked them to the floor and a sadistic smile spread across her face as she looked at her new victims. Once again Lor continued with her frantic stabbing, making a mess in the process. After some time passed Lor grew tired and her rage waned. She looked around and was satisfied with her work.  
  
"Well, I think that makes us close to even," Lor mused to herself.  
  
She put her pocketknife away and quietly slipped out of the Descartes household.  
  
"Now I have to find out what Tish's role in all of this is. I need some answers, and I need them now," Lor thought to herself heading to Tish's house.  
  
Carver slowly approached his house looking around to make sure that Lor wasn't waiting to ambush him. He made his way into his house and still caught no sign of Lor. The suspense was killing him. The fact that he didn't see Lor scared him the most. Carver knew how Lor was she always made sure her anger was felt.   
  
"If she isn't here waiting to beat me up, then that must mean she has done something far more sinister. But what could it be? Has she stolen all of the food out of my house? It must be something truly horrendous."  
  
Carver backed into his room keeping an eye out for any back attacks. Once he felt secure he turned to into his room, and froze in his tracks. Carver's eyes glazed over and his mouth dropped open. The carnage was sinking deep into his soul. He fell to his knees but was frozen otherwise. Odd squeaks and other noises escaped Carver's mouth as it hung open. His mind refused to accept what it saw and he slowly crawled over to one of his shoes and cradled it in his arms. It had a wound on its right side that stretched front to back with the shoe's stuffing pouring from it.  
  
"Oh my gosh..." Carver whispered aloud.  
  
His eyes drifted to another pair of shoes both with the tongues cut out, and the laces sliced up. It hurt for him to look at it, but he knew he had to face his fear and pick up the broken pieces.   
  
"I can barely recognize my auburn Tommy Hugo high tops," Carver thought to himself.  
  
He lifted the mutilated shoe and just gazed at the pool of stuffing that was under it and sticking to it's badly wounded sole. Carver put his hand over his mouth to keep himself from throwing up.   
  
"This is just grotesque. It's just... like... a..."  
  
Carver drifted off when he saw the worst of the worst. There underneath two more pair of dead shoes lay his lucky Tommy Hugo's. He knelt at their side and pulled them up onto his lap. The one shoe had been stabbed through the heel, the toes and it's shoelace holes removed. The other bore marks only on one side. The cuts were placed in a certain order so they spelled a word. It made the culprit easy to figure out because the word was "Lor".   
  
Carver raised the shoes to his face and kissed each one muttering, "Good night, my sweet princes."  
  
He put them back on the floor and walked over to his bed. He got under the covers and lay there deciding to wait until the world became a friendly place again. His eyes were transfixed on the ceiling and he felt himself on the verge of a breakdown.  
  
An hour or so passed before Carver moved again. He got out of bed deciding that the world had become friendly enough for him to eat something. Carver put his hand up so he couldn't see the monstrous scene on the other side of the room again. He went to his door to open it, but the knob turned of its own accord. Carver took a step back as the door swung open. There in his doorway was Tish carrying a case at her side.  
  
"Hello Carver. I noticed you disappeared earlier today on the phone so I figured I would come see you," Tish said her voice giving away that she was there for other reasons.  
  
"Well, uh, thanks for checking on me, but I'm fine so, you know, you can get back to whatever important things you were already doing," Carver responded slightly nervous.  
  
He had had enough traumas for one day.  
  
"Don't be silly, I want to make sure my friend is doing good, and I must say that you look quite tense. Fortunately for you I brought my dulcimer. So I can play you your own private concert, and help you relax," Tish offered knowing full well that it would be torturous for Carver.  
  
"Wow, that's very nice of you, but I don't want you to go to all that trouble for me," Carver responded.  
  
"It's no trouble at all, in fact, I insist," Tish strongly emphasized her last two words.  
  
Carver felt his insides twist, and he reluctantly sat down on his bed.  
  
Tish smiled a bit at him and pulled her dulcimer from her case. "For my first number I will play my one woman version of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony."  
  
Carver could already feel his life slowly ending from boredom. Tish played for what seemed like an eternity, but when Carver looked over the clock it had only been five minutes.  
  
"Oh man, I think the sun will burn out before she finishes her 'concert'."  
  
After another three minutes Carver could feel himself drifting into either sleep or a coma. Tish noticed Carver drifting off so she brought him forcibly back to reality with her patented screech. Carver almost leapt out of bed. He tried to catch his breath after having the bejeezus scared out of him.  
  
"Can't you give a guy a little warning, Tish?" Carver said in between pants.  
  
"Then you'll just have to stay awake for the duration of the concert," Tish said resuming her playing.  
  
The next two hours were an excruciating torture for Carver. He could almost feel his body stiffening from boredom, and he could have sworn that time began to go so slow he was moving back in time.   
  
"A beautiful concert, wouldn't you say? Don't you feel relaxed now?" Tish asked Carver.  
  
"So...very...relaxed," Carver said only halfway in reality.  
  
"Oh and one more thing before I leave, don't ever toy with my emotions again or you will live to regret it," Tish commented becoming downright scary.  
  
Carver didn't respond, he couldn't respond. Instead he just gazed as Tish packed up her dulcimer. She went to leave, but turned back to Carver.   
  
"I'll tell you now, Lor and I have decided to forgive you since we are all friends, and you are Carver. Of course, that's not to say we aren't mad at you, we definitely are. Oh one more thing, I don't care what you try to do, or what Lor thinks, or even what Dot thinks, Tino will be mine. I always had a chance you just gave me bad information so Lor and I would foil each other's plans. Well, now it's on."  
  
Tish turned quickly making her hair flip behind her as she walked out. Carver simply sat in bed shaken to his soul from his torturous ordeal. He turned his head towards his door to avoid catching even a glimpse of his shoes. Carver put his hand to his face and shook his head. He took a deep breath, and began to try and pull himself together.  
  
"Hey there, well you just saw what happened. I guess I got carried away. It must have been my conscience's vacation time. I really learned my lesson this time, and I swear I'll never do something like this again. However, I'm curious and a bit frightened and what will happen between Lor and Tish in the coming weeks. Although I don't think that they can inflict pain on each other that rivals the pain they inflicted on me today. I mean Tish's dulcimer playing almost froze me in time, and Lor, well, she... she... she murdered my shoes! I gotta go; I don't want you guys to see me cry. Later *sob* days."  
  
End of Chapter Nine  
  
You know I remember when I was writing my first Weekenders story I updated about every other day for a while. Now I'm averaging like two weeks a chapter. What a difference a few months makes I tell ya. Regardless, I'm still 100 percent behind writing this story and the others I will do in the future. So even if I do take awhile updating I haven't given up, and I'm not tired of the story. Keep on reading everybody. 


	10. All is Fair In Love and War

Change Has Come - Chapter Ten: All is Fair In Love and War  
  
The school bell rang loudly giving much desired freedom to the students sitting in their seats. The doors burst open as the kids ran out screaming and hollering over on another. Gradually the kids formed their respective groups all over the front of the school. They excitedly discussed their plans for the weekend. Leaning up against one of the many trees on the property was Tino, waiting for his friends to show up. He hadn't seen much of them during the week. All four had been bogged down with more work then they cared for in the past week. Tino sighed getting tired of waiting and looked away to the street.  
  
"Oh hey I didn't even notice you guys there. You remember how last Sunday I had a date with Dot, right? Yeah, well, I have another one tonight. Hopefully, tonight's date will be better than last week's. You never realize how much a movie can be ruined by one person until it happens. This afternoon me and the guys should be going to the Snack Shack. I put a note on each of their lockers to let them know of the plan. I wish they would show up already."  
  
Tino looked back to the school's main doors to look for his friends. He looked at his watch and tapped his foot impatiently. His patience was restored a little when he saw a nervous looking Carver exit the building. Carver kept looking over his shoulder every couple of seconds as he made his way to Tino.  
  
"Something the matter Carver? You look kind of sweaty and nervous sorta like how I look a lot of the time," Tino asked his friend.  
  
"Nothing's the matter. I just might be a little sick. It's nothing to worry about you know probably one of those bugs going around. Just- Ahhhh!" Carver called out upon seeing Lor.  
  
She gave him a glare that could turn someone to stone. Tino was perplexed by Carver's behavior. He turned around to see what the deal was. All he saw was Lor standing there smiling at him.  
  
"Hey Lor. Geez, Carv it's just Lor, what are you screaming about?"  
  
"Yeah, Carver it's just me. I'm not a threat to you, right?" Lor said making sure Carver knew to keep Tino in the dark.  
  
"Right! Right, I was just yelling because, uhhh, a bee stung me. You know those bees are a real pain."  
  
Carver understood Lor's subtle words.  
  
Tino merely shook his head and muttered, "And the weirdness continues."  
  
A few seconds after Tish showed up giving Carver a look similar to that of Lor's.  
  
"All right now that Tish is here we can all go to the Snack Shack. What do you guys say?" Tino asked cheerily.  
  
The three answered with various mumblings and grunts. Tino decided to assume that his friends had consented to his proposal.   
  
"Okay then away we all go."  
  
The group started walking along, but Carver kept his difference from Tish and Lor by lagging a bit behind them. Tish and Lor, however, went on either side of Tino and trying to focus his attention on themselves. Tino felt like a ping-pong ball bouncing from one girl to the next trying to keep up with two separate conversations. As it was he kept mixing up the conversations much to the frustration of Tish and Lor.  
  
"C'mon, Tino I'm trying to tell you about this stuck-up guy in English class. He thinks he knows so much, but he barely knows anything. It's really annoying," Tish commented.  
  
Tino began to answer her but Lor grabbed his arm.   
  
"Pay attention, Tino! I was telling you something. So like I was saying, in gym today I was on fire, I was making every shot I took. All of the girls were stunned."  
  
Tish butted into the conversation, "Excuse me, I was talking to Tino. Don't be so rude."  
  
"What?! I was talking with Tino too. You're butting in as well!" Lor shot back.  
  
"Don't be ridiculous! I was talking first just wait your turn," Tish said agitated.  
  
"I can't believe what I'm hearing! You know as well as I that-"  
  
"That's it! No mas!" Tino interjected, "I can't stand listening to you two arguing anymore. I'm walking with Carver figure something out yourselves."  
  
Tino slowed his pace to catch up with Carver eager to get away from the girls for the time being. Tish and Lor looked back at Tino and Carver chatting it up and then they looked at each other.   
  
"Good job, Lor. You had to start a problem and you drove Tino off," Tish chastised.  
  
"What are you talking about?! You started complaining about Tino and me talking."  
  
"Oh who are we kidding? This is both are faults. It's obvious both of us are apprehensive of the other."  
  
"Totally,... assuming that apprehensive means we both want Tino to ourselves."  
  
"Yes, It does. I think we need to form an alliance. We both have a common enemy in Dot. Nothing will get accomplished if we just bicker amongst ourselves. We should work together to at least drive Dot away."  
  
"Yeah, I think you're right. Okay then, we form an alliance."  
  
Tish and Lor smiled at each other and shook hands. However, the smiles were empty and served as little more than masks.  
  
"Look at her, she thinks she is so smart. I know she is planning something sneaky. An alliance, bah! It has to be a ploy. I'm gonna keep my eyes on her," Lor thought.  
  
"Look at those eyes. They are the eyes of a sneak. I know Lor will try to win by any means necessary. I gotta keep a look out for her," Tish thought.  
  
At the Snack Shack Tino and Carver got the food while Tish and Lor made sure to get hold of their usual table. Like most visits to the Snack Shack the order of the day was a round of Chug-A-Freezes and some chili cheese fries. Once the food and drink had been passed out Tino decided to drum up a conversation.   
  
"Since I haven't seen much of you guys this week, how about you all tell me how things have been?"  
  
The three others munched a bit hesitantly on their food, but Carver eventually spoke up.   
  
"Things have been as good as they could be given the circumstances."  
  
The two girls stared intently at Carver wondering what he was thinking.  
  
"Given the circumstances? What's that mean?" Tino asked.  
  
"I mean the loads of homework we are getting. It's ridiculous! I've barely had any free time this week," Carver responded.  
  
Tish and Lor breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
"Oh yeah, I know just what you mean. I've been getting overworked too. Of course, it makes hanging out like this that much more worthwhile," Tino responded.  
  
"You said it, T. In fact, why don't we hang out tonight as well? Funville is open late on Fridays."  
  
Tino sighed a bit, "I'd like to hang out, but I've got a date with Dot tonight. Sorry, Carv."  
  
"Hey, it's no big deal. That's how it is when you have a girlfriend."  
  
Tish and Lor mentally winced hearing those words.  
  
"Speaking of going on a date, how was your date on Sunday? We never got to hear how it went," Carver added.  
  
Tino sighed again, "Could have been better. I'd say it was kind of disappointing really."  
  
The girls found themselves thinking those were the greatest words they had ever heard.   
  
"It's nothing to worry about though. It's just something I have to deal with," Tino followed up with.  
  
"Yeah, you can't give up. I think you two make a good couple, and one bad experience shouldn't ruin that." Carver said.  
  
Tino smiled and nodded, "Yeah, you're right. I just gotta shake the bad stuff and push onward and upward."  
  
"Exactly! Live the dream, T!" Carver shouted.  
  
The smile from Carver's face quickly disappeared as two lobs of fries smacked into the side of his head splattering all over the place.  
  
"Sorry about that. I got a muscle spasm," Lor said lying through her teeth.  
  
"The fries slipped out of my hand from their grease," Tish offered as her excuse.  
  
Tino simply shrugged accepting the excuses, but Carver was beyond taking any reasoning. Blinded by the fact that his hair and clothes were ruined Carver grabbed two handfuls of fries for throwing. Tino saw the food in Carver's hands but his warnings were too late and the girls were hit right in the side of their heads. The girls and Carver boiled with anger and they tried to stare each other down. Their anger was offset by the large grin on Tino's face that grew into chuckles to muffled laughter to straight out guffaws. The three turned to Tino with icy glares. However, he couldn't see the deadly looks because of the tears in his eyes. Lor nodded to Tish who nodded to Carver who nodded back to Tish. The three all got handfuls of the fries and fired them at Tino. Unable to see the projectiles, Tino fell victim to the three-pronged attack. But instead of getting angry Tino laughed even more and fired back some shots of his own. The laughter became infectious and soon the others were laughing as well as the fries flew back and forth. The only person not laughing was the Snack Shack owner who promptly reprimanded the group and handed them some mops and rags. The punishment didn't bother the friends. It was one of those moments they would reminisce about down the road so they didn't mind cleaning up.   
  
Tino spoke up as they cleaned, "Thanks guys I needed that. I needed to be reminded that I'm still a kid."  
  
"No prob, Tino, but what's that supposed to mean?" Carver asked.  
  
"Oh nothing. Don't worry about it. Look at the time. I've gotta get ready for my date soon."  
  
"Hey, you go on and get ready the three of us can finish this up," Carver commented.  
  
"Are you sure? I should stay and help to finish it."  
  
"Yeah, I think he's right Carver. This is a pretty big mess," Tish commented.  
  
"She's right Carver, maybe it's for the best," Lor added.  
  
Carver knew the girls' game, but he wasn't going to play it.   
  
"No, it's fine. We can handle this. Plus, the three of us are more responsible than you are," Carver decreed.  
  
"Thanks. I owe you guys one," Tino replied.  
  
Tish and Lor looked downcast, but suddenly Tish's face brightened and she asked, "Hey Tino, just out of curiosity, where are you and Dot going tonight?"  
  
"Oh we are going to the park tonight."  
  
"That sounds nice. Have a... good time," Tish forced out.  
  
"I will. Later days," Tino said.  
  
The others waved as he left. After Tino was completely gone Carver turned to Tish and asked, "Out of curiosity?"  
  
"Yes, curiosity."  
  
"You aren't going to go spy on Tino and Dot are you?" Carver asked near incredulous.  
  
"A little curiosity never hurt anybody," Tish responded.  
  
"Oh yeah? Curiosity killed the cat," Carver commented.  
  
"But satisfaction brought him back," Lor added.  
  
"Lor, not you too?" Carver asked.  
  
"All's fair in love and war," Lor said.  
  
"That's right. We aren't stepping on anyone's toes. Plus, you have no room to talk about what's immoral or not," Tish said.  
  
Carver couldn't argue that point so he resumed his mopping. They all continued to clean but Tish repeatedly checked her watch while doing so.  
  
Once near the end of cleaning Tish spoke up, "Well, I've gotta run now. Can't waste anytime, you know."  
  
"But we aren't done yet, Tish. You can't leave just yet," Carver protested.  
  
"Hey, it's not my fault this place isn't clean yet. You're the one who let Tino go."  
  
"Yeah, Carv. Tish is right. That's why it's going to be up to you to finish the job," Lor added.  
  
"What?! You both are ditching me. I can't believe this!"  
  
"We aren't ditching you. We just have business to take care of. Anyway, you started the food fight. You had to retaliate. You should have just accepted your just desserts," Tish said.  
  
"Fine. Whatever. Go spy on Tino, like it will do you any good," Carver said with a wave of his hand.  
  
"Glad you see it our way," Lor commented.  
  
The girls left in a hurry leaving Carver mopping. Carver stopped and looked out towards the ocean.  
  
"What am I gonna do with these friends of mine? Oh well...... I want some dessert now."  
  
Tish and Lor snuck into the park and moved from tree to tree trying to avoid any detection. After a bit of searching they finally spied Tino and Dot walking along one of the many paths in the park. They felt a pang of jealousy when Dot held Tino's hand, but they also laughed a bit at how sweaty it made Tino. Stealthily the girls followed behind the couple trying to not get left behind. After walking the path for a little while Tino and Dot stopped and sat under a tree. Tish and Lor hid behind a tree a little ways back. From where they hid the girls could only hear faint murmurings.   
  
"Tish, we need to get closer. We can't hear a word they are saying," Lor whispered.  
  
"We can't get any closer. This is the closest hiding place," Tish responded.   
  
"This is pointless then! We need to hear what they are saying," Lor hissed.  
  
"Shhh! They're gonna hear you. All we have to do is listen very close and we should be able to make out some of the conversation."   
  
Lor grumbled a bit but acquiesced anyway. Upon listening in they found out that Tino was telling some sort of story, and from the look on Dot's face she was riveted. Once they heard Tino stop talking Dot burst into laughter, apparently Tino had good stories. The girls hated the smile on Tino's face, but at the same time they loved it. Now Dot was talking but she was speaking quietly so the girls had no idea what she was saying.   
  
"C'mon, Dot, speak up, speak up," Lor quietly urged.  
  
"Hold on a second. I think I can hear what she is saying," Tish said.  
  
She listened intently, but could barely tell what she was saying. But then Tish sat back and gasped.   
  
"What? What did you hear?" Lor asked anxiously.  
  
"Well, she either said 'Do you ever want take out?' or 'Do you ever want to make out?' I couldn't tell which one."  
  
"M-make out?! We have to stop them, Tish!" Lor said excitedly.  
  
"We can't do that. We aren't sure what she said, and besides how would we even stop them?"  
  
"C'mon Tish! Take a look. They're on a date, she was talking quietly, probably seductively, the stars are starting to shine, it's obvious she was talking about making out."  
  
"I guess, but still we can't really do too much about it. Don't think I like standing by. I would love to go over there and break it up, but we simply can't do it."  
  
"You can do what you want, but I'm taking action."  
  
"No, Lor, you are going to ruin things," Tish protested.  
  
Lor was beyond reasoning as was the case with her most of the time. She grabbed a tiny stone that was nearby and she hurled it in blind jealousy in the direction of Tino and Dot. Tish pressed up against the back of the tree and put her hands over her eyes. Lor watched the stone hit Tino dead between the eyes and knock him over. She then also ducked behind the tree so as not to get caught. The dual squeals that ran out alarmed Tish.  
  
"Geez, Lor, what did you do?! It sounds like you just killed him," Tish chastised.  
  
"It's not that bad it's probably a bruise at worse. You know how Tino is, he overreacts all the time."  
  
"You just hit him with a rock, Lor!" Tish quietly yelled.  
  
"A rock? Try a pebble. It was so tiny."  
  
"Even if it was a pebble you threw it pretty hard."  
  
"Are you kidding me? That was a weak shot for me."  
  
Tish shook her head and stole a glimpse of Tino and Dot. Much to her dismay Dot was kissing where Tino had just been beamed.   
  
"Nice going, Lor. You've ruined everything," Tish said bitterly.  
  
"It was better than sitting here and doing nothing. That's why you can't get Tino because you just sit by and don't take action!"  
  
"I'm being practical. Obviously, you can't get Tino because you act too rashly!"  
  
"Hey, you gotta take risks."  
  
"But you take risks all the time. You should only take risks sometimes."  
  
"Well, I think that- wait a minute, what happened to Tino and Dot?"  
  
Both girls looked around the tree and didn't see the two anywhere.   
  
"Well, this is just fantastic. We lost them," Tish commented.  
  
"You had to start arguing with me and so we weren't paying any attention to those two," Lor lamented.  
  
"I can't believe you are trying to blame me. I knew you couldn't be trusted. I don't know why I ever offered an alliance with you."  
  
"Well you know what, Tish? Forget that alliance because if you aren't with me you're against me!"   
  
"That's fine with me. It's every girl for herself."  
  
"Tino will be mine and mine alone, Tish. There can be only one!"  
  
"Think what you want, that doesn't make it true."  
  
The girls stared each other down a bit before turning and leaving in opposite directions.  
  
End of Chapter Ten  
  
I feel bad about how long I took with this chapter. I really shouldn't take a whole month to update. Regardless, I'm still alive so I'm still writing. Maybe I'll just buckle down and churn out the rest of this story with break neck speed. Of course then it might not have the quality I want it to have. It doesn't really matter, this story is far from dead, and that's the important thing. I'll stop rambling now. Keep reading everyone (all four of you). 


	11. Not An Angel

Change Has Come - Chapter Eleven: Not An Angel  
  
The sun shone brightly that Saturday afternoon spreading a happy radiance throughout Bahia Bay. The parks were crowded, the beach was full of people, everyone was out enjoying themselves. Well, almost everyone, a certain Tino Tonitini and Carver DesCartes were inside, though for different reasons. Tino was indoors because of a pounding headache that was more likely than not caused by the rock to the head. Carver was indoors because of a suspiciously large amount of homework that required his utmost attention. Not only was it a heavy load of homework, it wasn't exactly the easiest homework either. Of course little besides eating and fashion came easy to Carver.   
  
"Apparently someone out there hates me because I'm having the worst luck of all time. I can barely understand this stuff. I was not designed for homework," Carver muttered to himself amidst the scattering of textbooks and papers.  
  
He looked down at his algebra textbook and he wanted to cry. Of all the days that he had to have a ton of homework, it had to be on the nicest day of the past decade. Carver tried once more to get a handle on the work but just picking up one of the textbooks gave him mental cramps. He read the first line out of his science book and stopped. His eyes were glazed over and it was official: Carver's brain had simply deflated. He tilted from side to side and finally fell over smacking his head against the floor.  
  
"Ow! Geez, I gotta be careful. I'm gonna get killed doing this homework. It looks like I have to go to the last resort. I must call in "The Brain"," Carver thought himself.  
  
He went over and dialed his phone, after a few rings he heard the familiar voice.   
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hey Brain, I mean, Tish," Carver greeted.  
  
"Carv, you know I don't particularly care for that nickname."  
  
"Right, right, my bad. Anyway, I'm calling in dire need of your help."  
  
"I sure hope you are telling the truth this time, and it isn't an emergency like you can't find food to eat."  
  
"Hey, that would be a dire emergency. I don't know what I would do then, but thankfully that's not the problem right now. The problem right now is this barbaric homework we have. I need your help to get it done."  
  
"I was just about to start it myself after my nice long stroll in the park. It is such a beautiful day out. Anyway, I'll come over to your place and we can do this work together."  
  
  
  
Tish walked up to Carver's door and knocked loudly. After a few moments a disheveled Carver opened the door letting Tish in.  
  
"You look terrible. Have you been up all night?" Tish asked.   
  
"No, this is from me freaking out over the major amount of homework we have. I need your help now!"  
  
"Okay, okay, let's go to your room and get started on this homework already."  
  
Carver led the way to his room and push hard against the door due to all the books in the way.  
  
"Geez, Carver, this place is a pigpen. I can barely walk in here."  
  
"Sorry, but this is what happens when I'm tortured with this much work. Oh I know you probably didn't want me to, but I called Lor as well to see if she wanted to work with us on this homework. However-"  
  
"You called that traitor?! I don't want to see her right now. She and I are at war."  
  
"Yes, I know. Don't worry though she said she couldn't make it. Apparently, she has already made plans for the day. I tried to convince her that this homework was rough and that she should work on it, but she wasn't listening to me. Her plans must be quite important."  
  
"Good, and I hope this comes to back to bite her on the Gluteus Maximus."  
  
Carver rolled his eyes at Tish's scorn for Lor.   
  
"Whatever. Let's just get to this work now."  
  
Tish nodded, but her mind was elsewhere. In her mind she was very suspicious of Lor's plans for the day. She was almost certain that they involved Tino in some way. Tish resolved that she would have to find out.   
  
Lor looked in the mirror and brushed it thoroughly. On any other day she would merely brush it straight, but today she wanted it to be perfect, to catch the eye.  
  
"This takes forever, no wonder I never do this everyday. Today is special though, today is the day I finally win Tino over, and for that everything must be just right," Lor thought to herself.   
  
Once finished brushing her hair, Lor decided to put on more deodorant to increase the powder fresh smell on herself. She didn't own any perfume or any make-up for that matter. Lor had always figured if she needed any than she would just borrow it from her mother, and by Lor's standards she would only need those items on her wedding day. Lor took a quick sniff of her armpits and was satisfied with the overpowering powder smell emanating from them.  
  
"Ahhh, I smell and look like a million bucks. It's time to do my thing. This should be easy since I don't have to worry about Tish interfering today," Lor thought.  
  
She took another look in the mirror and smiled at herself with pride. With a kick in her step, she headed out to Tino's house. On her walk to Tino's house Lor took in the beautiful day breathing in the fresh bay breeze.  
  
"Now this is a day to be outside. Carver and Tish are crazy to stay inside and do that homework. Of course, if they didn't then Tish would probably be butting in at Tino's. I certainly hope Tino is willing to take a break from that homework to come outside with me," Lor thought.  
  
Somehow the day's beauty increased Lor's optimism in her ability to win Tino. The birds' chirping and the smiling sun seemed like signals of victory to her. The optimism went to Lor's head for a moment and she broke into a skip down the street. The loud cry of nearby seagulls brought Lor back to reality and she stopped skipping. She looked around to make sure no one had just seen her, and the rest of the way she kept herself grounded. Upon coming to the walkway of Tino's house Lor took a deep breath to summon her courage and she began walking the nerve-wracking walk to Tino's door. There were a few false starts and breaks along the way but Lor now stood in front of the door ready to knock. Another deep breath later she raised her fist and knocked on Tino's door. After a few tense moments Ms. Tonitini opened the door.  
  
"Hello, Lor. It's nice to see you," she greeted.  
  
"Hi, Tino's mom. Is Tino here?" Lor asked.  
  
"Yeah, he's in his room. He has a bit of a headache though. It's probably from this lump he has on his head."  
  
"I see," Lor said quietly.  
  
"Well, go on up. I imagine he'll be happy to see one of his friends." Lor nodded and headed in the direction of the stairs.  
  
Inside Lor felt terrible now about having thrown the rock. At the top of the stairs slowly opened the door to Tino's room and she saw him sitting at his desk with a bandage over his forehead.  
  
"Hey Tino. How's it goin'?" Lor said in greeting.  
  
Tino tuned around to her face, "Oh hey there Lor. Well, as you can see I'm bit banged up. Something hit me in the head at the park last night and today I have a headache and what looks like a horn growing out of my forehead. I hope it goes down because can't go to school looking like this."  
  
"I'm sorry about that."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I mean, I'm sorry to hear about that," Lor quickly covered up.  
  
"Yeah, well, what brings you around these parts today?"  
  
"It's such a nice day out that I thought it would be nice to go out and enjoy the weather."  
  
"Yeah, it is a nice day out, but we have so much homework to do that I don't think we could afford to push it off."  
  
"Oh c'mon, the homework can't be that bad. I'm sure that you could get it done after you come back. Who knows when it will be this nice again?"  
  
"Even so, I have this headache and this goofy looking bandage on my forehead. I don't really want people to see me."  
  
"Don't be ridiculous. You look fine with that bandage... sorta. I think that the fresh air would do you good. It'll take your mind off your headache and it will clear your mind so you can focus on your homework."  
  
"I don't know. Have you looked at the homework yet? There really is a lot, and my head is really acting up."  
  
"Tino, sometimes you have to procrastinate and have fun. You're focusing on all the bad things."  
  
"I can't really ignore my headache, you know."  
  
"Then take some medicine for it! As for the homework it will still be here for you when you get back so you can do it then. This good weather may not be here tomorrow. Am I gonna have to force you to have fun?"  
  
Tino thought about it for a second and sighed.  
  
"All right. I'll go outside with you, but if I see one person laughing at me because of my forehead I'm coming right back here and I'm refusing to leave here again."  
  
"Okay, done deal!" Lor said with a smile.  
  
Tino got his shoes on and led the way down the stairs.  
  
"Hey mom, I'm going out for a bit," he called.  
  
"What? I thought you had a headache not to mention enough homework to last you a month," Tino's mom replied.  
  
"Uh, Yeah I do, but I want to get some fresh air to help clear my mind."  
  
Tino's mom sighed.  
  
"I certainly hope it's just to clear your mind and it's not you procrastinating."  
  
"Don't worry, mom. It's not."   
  
"Okay then. Make sure to stay safe. I love you."  
  
"Mooom! You're embarrassing me!" Tino exclaimed.  
  
Lor laughed a bit and Tino gave her a look, but then ignored it and continued on his way outside.   
  
Once on the sidewalk Tino asked Lor, "So are we picking up Carver or Tish first?"  
  
"Oh they won't be joining us today. They are too busy wasting the day away doing that homework," Lor answered.  
  
"Carver's doing homework on a Saturday? This must be serious," Tino said incredulous.  
  
"Well you know Carver, he's full of wrong decisions like deciding to stay in on such a beautiful day," Lor commented.  
  
"Whatever. Now without half of our usual group what should we do?"  
  
"How about we head to the park and play some catch?" Lor offered.   
  
"Hmm, it only involves hand-eye coordination so I should be fine. Okay, let's do it, but let's make sure to find somewhere in the shade to play. This sun is killing my head."  
  
"Sure thing. Grab your glove from the garage and let's go."  
  
The park was full of adults as Tino and Lor arrived. Almost all the children who usually were at the park were at home trying to get a handle on their homework. The two eventually found a nice shady spot betwixt two trees. They set up shop there with Lor standing in front of one of the trees and Tino standing in front of the other. They put on their gloves and Lor threw the ball to Tino.  
  
"Ahhh! Too fast!" Tino squealed dodging out of the way.   
  
The ball cracked the tree behind him, tore off some bark, and rolled back to Lor.  
  
"Geez, are you trying to kill me? This headache is enough," Tino lamented.   
  
"Sorry about that, I'm used to playing catch with my brothers."  
  
"Right, right. Just try to throw the ball slower."  
  
Lor picked up the ball and lightly lobbed it into the air. Tino caught the ball with ease and smiled, pleased that he had been able to catch it.  
  
"Now that's what I'm talking about, nice and easy lobs, those I can catch."  
  
Tino tossed the ball back to Lor in a nice arc. Lor positioned herself under the ball and caught it.  
  
"How boring. There's no excitement to this with these soft throws and easy catches," Lor thought.  
  
"Didn't I tell you this would be fun, Tino? A nice game of catch in the park on a beautiful day clears your mind doesn't it?" Lor called out denying her thoughts.  
  
"Oh yeah, this is the way to play catch, nice, safe, and slow."  
  
The two continued on playing catch just the way Tino said he liked it, safe and slow. On the opposite side of things it was driving Lor out of her mind. She could feel her inner jock yearning to burst out. She played catch like this when she was three years old, and it was killing her to play it like this over a decade later.  
  
"You know I think you're right, Lor. This time out here is really helping to clear my mind. I think I can feel my headache starting to fade away a little," Tino said merrily.  
  
"That's great. I told you so. You should listen to me more often," Lor said all the while holding in her desire to flip out.  
  
"I'll tell ya something else, playing catch like this makes me feel like a good sports player. I'm catching everyone that comes my way. Why, if we were playing baseball I would be getting everyone out," Tino commented.  
  
Lor held her tongue trying to ignore Tino's comments.  
  
"Yeah, I guess, maybe..." Lor muttered.  
  
"The MVP of the game is... Tino Tonitini! And the crowd goes wild!" Tino called out while making fake cheering noises.  
  
Lor couldn't take it anymore and she called out, "Heads up!"  
  
She tossed the ball to Tino who panicked like a deer in headlights so it cracked him right in the forehead.  
  
"Gyaaaahhhh!!" Tino cried out.  
  
He went down to the ground clutching his head. Lor smacked herself in the forehead.  
  
"I can't believe I did it again. Don't I ever learn?"   
  
She ran over to Tino to see if he was all right.  
  
"Are you okay? I am so sorry. I wasn't thinking about what I was doing."  
  
Tino seemed oblivious to Lor's presence and he just kept rolling there muttering, "Oh my forehead, it hurts so bad. My headache has doubled in strength and I think that lump is even bigger."  
  
"I best get you home. Here let me help you up," Lor said.   
  
She got Tino up to his feet and helped support him since he was in a dazed state. It was a long walk back to Tino's house because of Tino moaning the whole way and his reduced walking ability.  
  
"Okay, Tino we're just about there. Just hang in there a little longer," Lor commented.  
  
As they walked up the path to Tino's house, Ms. Tonitini spied them from the porch and came running down.  
  
"What on Earth happened?!" she cried.  
  
"Well, I kind of hit Tino in the head with the ball when I threw it too hard. It was an accident and I'm really sorry," Lor apologized.   
  
"It's okay, Lor. You didn't mean to do it, but this certainly doesn't bode well for Tino's forehead."  
  
"Hey mom, look at me I'm an airplane. Wheeee!" Tino spouted  
  
"That doesn't sound too good," Lor commented.  
  
Tino's mom shrugged a bit, "I'm sure it's fine."   
  
"You know, mom, I'm really looking forward to supper," Tino mentioned.  
  
Ms. Tonitini stared at him for a second, "Okay, now we should be worrying about him."  
  
Lor and Tino's mom helped Tino the rest of the way into the house and sat him down on the couch.  
  
"I'm really sorry about this Ms. Tonitini. I didn't mean to do this to him," Lor said feeling really bad about her actions.  
  
"Don't worry about it, he'll be fine, and I know you wouldn't intentionally hit him in the head. You are his friend, after all."  
  
"Right, his friend, yeah, I wouldn't do it on purpose," Lor said quietly.  
  
"At least now that he is at home he can start that homework of his," Tino's mom commented.  
  
Immediately, Tino let out a loud moan voicing his distaste of the homework.   
  
"Yeah, I need to get that homework started to so I best be going," Lor commented.  
  
"Okay then. See you later, Lor and don't worry about Tino, he'll be just fine," Ms. Tonitini assured her.  
  
Lor nodded and left for home.  
  
That night Lor flopped onto her bed kicking herself for her actions.   
  
"I can't believe it. What was I thinking? I screwed it up again. I really need to control my temper, but it was killing me to play like that and to listen to him boast about it. I need to play against real competition that's what I like. I can't stand this little kiddy stuff."   
  
Just then Lor's phone rang and she picked it up.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"So you thought you could get Tino today while I was busy at work?" came Tish's voice across the line.  
  
"What?! How do you know about that? Are you spying on me?!"  
  
"Well, when I heard you had 'other plans' I was suspicious and so I just called Tino's house before this to find out if you had been by there."   
  
"I can't believe you. You really want an all out war don't you?"  
  
"I'm not about to let you win by trickery, and I'm not about to let you physically hurt Tino anymore. Hitting him with a rock and then hitting him with a baseball, you really need to control your emotions. You are much too wild and out of control for Tino."  
  
"Grrr, both were accidents! I'm not trying to hurt him!"  
  
"Well, you are and Tino is my friend so I don't like seeing him hurt so much."  
  
"Oh c'mon, Tish, I'm Tino's friend too. This is crazy. You don't know when to quit."  
  
"I know when to quit, remember I have the rational mind here. I know just how to win Tino over."  
  
"You are dreaming, Tish. There is no way you can win Tino. This is harder to do than anything else in the world. It's even harder than Algebra!"  
  
"That's your perception. I'll make sure to show you how it's done and how easily it's done."  
  
"When haggis fly, Tish. If it was that easy than you would have won Tino by now."  
  
"I haven't gotten Tino yet because you have been hindering me so far."  
  
"Whatever, Tish. I'm done with this conversation. You've got no chance. I need to get started on my homework too. Goodbye."  
  
Lor slammed the phone down and went back to pouting on her bed. "I can't believe all of this. It's so ridiculous."  
  
End of Chapter 11  
  
Finally, I've written a new chapter. This is what happens when you are a slacker. I'm not talking in writing this I mean being a slacker in school. All of my work had piled up on me and so I needed to take care of all of that before I got to this chapter. I have a theory, though, that laziness is a disease. Like how obesity can be caused by a problem with your glands or whatever, I think the same thing can be said for laziness. I'd research it, but I'm too lazy. Anyway, I am still alive and I am writing so don't be discouraged this story will be finished. Keep on reading and reviewing. 


	12. She Is Perfect

Change Has Come – Chapter Twelve: She Is Perfect

         Sunday was upon Bahia Bay and many of the high school children were hard at work finishing up their homework. Most had worked diligently all of Saturday and a few had been working hard since Friday. There was a collective feeling of relief among all the children that they were near the end. However, Lor was not one of those children. She had spent all of Saturday working on Tino and then pouting afterwards about how wrong things went. Now she was in a mad dash to accomplish all of the homework, and mad was definitely an understatement.

 "Arrrrgh! Who assigns this much homework?! Are they trying to work us to death?! This is unreal!!" Lor yelled as she looked at all the work spread out in front of her.

 Grumbling, she tried to start with English. Within minutes she went cross-eyed and nearly passed out. 

Lying on the floor in a daze Lor thought, "This is not good. There is no way I'll get this all done like this. I need to think of something and I need to think of it fast. Let's see, dad is busy fixing what the boys broke, mom is nowhere to be found, my brothers know less than I do if that's possible, I can't face Tino again, I refuse to ask that traitor, Tish, for help, and Carver, well, it's Carver."

 Lor shook her head at the dim prospects, but then it hit her.

 "I know! I can copy Carver's answers. He was working with Tish so they must be right. What a good plan, and people think I'm not that smart." 

 She picked up the phone and got a hold of Carver.

 "Carver, did you finish the homework?" Lor asked hurriedly. 

"By some miracle, yeah, I got it finished," Carver responded. 

"Great. Bring you and the homework over right away."

 "What? Why should I do that?"

 "Because I need to get my work done and the only way I can possibly get it all done in one day is to use your homework."

 "So in other words you want to steal my answers?"

 "It's not stealing, it's sharing. C'mon, Carver, do me this favor."

 "After I worked so hard getting all these answers you want me to just let you have them after you threw the day away?"

 "Fine, I'll admit it. I wasted the day when I should have done my work instead, but the point here is that I can glue you to the wall, and I can kill the rest of your shoes."

 Carver was silent for a few moments.

 "You drive a hard bargain, Lor, but since I know you aren't lying or joking I'll be right over."

 Lor smiled satisfied with her keen negotiation skills.

 "Well, that solves that problem. Now if only this whole mess with Tino and Tish were so easy to resolve, but I'll think about that later."

 After twenty minutes or so had passed Carver showed up with his arms full of books and papers. As soon as Lor let him in, Carver darted right to her room and dropped all the material on her bed.

 "Boy, am I glad to put that stuff down. I thought my arms were going to fall off it was so heavy."

 "This looks painful, so it's probably best to get right into it."

 "Hmm, talk about some more déjà vu," Carver remarked. 

"Déjà vu? What are you talking about?"

 "Well, yesterday I was working with Tish and she wanted to get right into it, and during that time you were out pursuing Tino. Now I'm working with you and you want to get right down to it, and Tish is out pursuing Tino."

 Lor looked slightly miffed but beyond that nothing happened.

 "Whatever. Forget about Tino and Tish for now. I'm just concerned with getting this work done as soon as possible."

 Carver shrugged and grabbed the first book to start with the work.

         Tish lightly powdered her face just enough so it made a difference but not enough that it was obvious to anyone who passed her on the street. She had decked herself out in a new blue shirt with one of her traditional purple skirts. Although the skirt was slightly shorter than Tish's usual length in a daring move to get Tino to see her as a woman. Not only that, but Tish's shirt was a tad loose around the neck so if she leaned it gave a bit of a show. Now Tish wasn't morally loose, but her drive to get Tino to see her as a girl before a friend made led her to make these clothing choices. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and brushed it smooth. This new hairstyle was a bit of a departure from her usual looks, but personally Tish felt she looked stunning in it. As the coup de grace, Tish put a small hint of perfume on her neck to make sure she smelled nice. Once finished with her preparations, she took a long look in the mirror and studied herself from every angle.

 "I'd say I look like the perfect picture of femininity. Maybe I should dress like this more often, I would probably get more attention." 

Tish thought about that for a second.

 "Wait a minute, what am I talking about? I wouldn't stoop to such superficial means. My beauty is both internal and external. This dressing up is solely part of a scientific strategy."

 Satisfied with her appearance Tish reached into her top drawer and pulled out the second part of her strategy. It was a romantic poem that she had written in hopes of subtly letting Tino know how she felt and that she hoped would awaken Tino to how romantic she could be. Tish read the poem over and beamed with pride at her work. Tish gleefully twirled around in her room.

 "Ahhh, what a wonderful world it is! To have such a beautiful day as today mark what will be a great hour of mine. I do believe nature is singing my fanfare today."

 She looked at herself in the mirror again, blew herself a kiss, and was off for Tino's house. To Tish the walk to Tino's house felt like an army's march to victory. If there was one thing Tish wasn't lacking, it was confidence.

 "Being rational is the key here. I understand my emotions and I know how to utilize them correctly. My plan is near foolproof."

 She walked with her head held high and with her confidence in her heart. 

When Tish arrived at Tino's house, she strolled up to her door and as an extra boost muttered to herself, "There is nothing to fear but fear itself."

 She knocked on the door and, it was promptly answered by Ms. Tonitini.

 "Oh hello Tish, it's nice to see you."

 "Hi, Ms. Tonitini. Is Tino here?"

 "Yeah, he is in his room, but I can't say he is doing well."

 "Oh what's the matter with him?"

 "Well, he has a headache from multiple traumas to the head, and I think he fried his brain doing all that homework."

 "Ehhh, that doesn't sound good. I think I'll check in on him."

 "That sounds good maybe you can help him ease his mind."

 Tish nodded and started up the stairs to Tino's room. 

Ms. Tonitini watched her ascend the staircase and pondered to herself, "Tish certainly has dolled herself up. I can't believe I missed it. 'He' is never gonna let me live this down."

 Tino's door was slightly ajar so Tish pushed it open slowly and poked her head around the door. She didn't see Tino anywhere until she followed a ray of sunlight onto his bed and saw his face poking out from the covers. His eyes were wide and bloodshot. He looked like a deer caught in headlights.

 "Tino, are you okay?" Tish asked genuinely worried about her friend. 

Tino shook a bit as he spoke, "All that work…… all those words…… it's coming for me."

 Tish gave him a look and sat down on the edge of the bed.

 "Can you hear me Tino? It's me, Tish. You know who I am, right?"

 Tino looked over at her.

 "Tish? I know someone with that name. Yes,…... Tish." 

"Right, right! It's me Tish. Look, it'll be okay I'll help you out of this."

 "Help, yes, help is good. I think I need help."

 "Okay first thing is first you need get out from under those covers and sit up."

 Tish pulled back the covers and grabbed Tino's arm and helped to prop him into a sitting position.

 "Okay, now look at me, Tino. Just turn your head a little."

 Ever so slowly Tino turned towards Tish his face and hair a wreck.

 "All right, now I want you to take a deep breath and let all your worries flow out when you exhale."

 Tino simply stared at her for a few moments and then did as told. Once he had exhaled his eyes returned to normal size.

 "Can you understand me well now? Are you better?" Tish asked.

 "Understand? I do that. I understand. Better am I," Tino replied still a bit out of it.

 Tish shook Tino a bit hoping to shake out any cobwebs. 

"Are you sure your better?"

 "Yes," Tino answered quickly.

 "Good, then I would like to show you this poem I wrote. I think it's good but I would like your opinion on it," Tish said smiling a bit.

 She pulled out the paper and Tino's eyes went wide again.

 "AHHHH! It's another paper! More work! More work! AHHHH!"

 "No, no, no, it's not more work, it's a poem I wrote, It's okay, Tino. Everything is fine," Tish said for comfort. 

Tino's eyes narrowed again and he felt himself calm down.

 "Right, a poem. You just said that. A poem, right."

 Tish handed the piece of paper to Tino and he gazed over it. The poem was written beautifully in calligraphy. It sprawled majestically over the page. When Tish went after something she put her full effort behind it.

 "So what do you think?" Tish asked anxiously.

 Tino looked over it some more.

 "Could you read it to me? I can't read all the swirls and twirls of the writing."

 Tish took the piece of paper from Tino and it shook in her trembling hands. Now she was nervous since she would have to speak the words that had elegantly guised her feelings. Tish cleared her throat, took a deep breath and began,**__**

**_S_**_hall I take my fluttering heart as a sign?_

**_T_**_ruly, being with you 'tis nothing short of divine_

**_A_**_nd when the sun departs leaving darkening skies_

**_Y_**_our smile provides the light for my eyes_

**_W_**_ith you, I can travel afar, live in every land_

**_I_**_ will always be home, as long as you hold my hand_

**_T_**_hirsting, I yearn for your tight embrace_

**_H_**_oping to feel you wipe all the tears from my face_

**_M_**_ore and More, I seek to learn the comfort of your arms_

**_E_**_levating me above all of life's harms_

**_I_**_ have heard your gentle voice showing me the way_

**_L_**_one and adrift, I fell if parted even for one day_

**_O_**_h, how my soul aches, I long to speak my heart_

**_V_**_ery timid on this am I, and so we are apart_

**_E_**_nduring my heartache, praying for a sign_

**_Y_**_ou hold such amazing power o'er this little heart of mine_

**_O_**_nly now I hold this final plea in my hand_

**_U_**_nwilling to give up, I find myself asking you to understand_

Tish finished and took a deep breath proud that she made it through the poem without incident. 

"So what do you think about my poem?" Tish asked.

 Tino was staring of into space and talked slowly.

 "Those…… were some pretty words. Very, very pretty. It was like poetry."

 "It was poetry, Tino! Are you in there?"

 "I'm not in there. I'm right here," Tino replied seriously.

 Tish was ready to rip her hair out in frustration.

 "Tino, I'm sorry to do this, but trust me when I say it's for your own good."

 In one deft motion, Tish raised her hand and slapped Tino across the face.

 "Ow! Oh, my aching head, and now my stinging face! Geez, Tish what did you do that for?!"

 "Sorry, but it had to be done. You were slowly losing your mind from an overload of homework."

 "Oh right, right. I remember it all now. Between my headache and the homework, I had a breakdown, and I was laid up in bed. And you read me a poem a minute or two ago, right?"

 "Yes, I did. Do you remember it?"

 "I couldn't recite it to ya, but I remember the general idea of it. It was a real sickeningly sweet romantic poem. Nothing I would ever care for, way too lovey-dovey, bleh! Give me action and excitement like Captain Dreadnaught any day."

 Tish was ready to blow.

 "Are you honestly putting mindless drivel like Captain Dreadnaught over the beauty of romance? Do you honestly think that Captain Dreadnaught is the be all and end all of literature?" Tish asked tensely.

 Tino stared at her for a moment.

 "Yeah, basically."

 Tish leaned over and got inches from Tino's face.

 "You, Tino Tonitini, have no respect for true culture! You're idea of- don't look away from me while I'm talking!"

 "S-sorry, but it's your shirt. I can see right down it. I don't want to be vulgar, you know."

 Tish blushed since she had made the conscious decision to wear the shirt. She stood up to remedy the problem.

 "Anyway like I was saying, you have no respect for culture. Poems like these are the words of romance. Girls fawn over men who respect such beauty."

 "That's odd, because I don't respect it and I have a girlfriend," Tino replied.

 Internally, Tish was cursing Tino.

 "Fine then, I don't care. Stay un-cultured; it's not my problem. I know in my heart I made the effort, and that's what counts."

 "Okay, that sounds good to me," Tino commented.

 Tish was blowing smoke out of her ears and she stomped to the door. She swung it open violently, and turned to Tino. 

"Diablerie!" she shouted.

 Tino was too busy sniffing the air to notice her shouting.

 He looked at her and asked, "Are you wearing perfume?"

 "No!" Tish yelled and she slammed the door.

 Tino was left sitting on his bed wondering what had gotten Tish so worked up.

         That night Tino and his mom sat around the dinner table with a meal of grasshoppers and honey. Needless to say, Tino decided to make himself a sandwich that night. 

"You know, mom, I'm sure you could find an exterminator to take care of the bugs instead of you cooking them," Tino commented. 

"I'll have you know bugs are very healthy. They have plenty of essential nutrients," Ms. Tonitini responded.

 She picked up one of the grasshoppers and raised it to her mouth. Ms. Tonitini found herself having a hard time getting the bug in her mouth. Eventually, she closed her eyes and tossed it in. With much squirming, she chewed it and swallowed it.

 "There *cough* that wasn't so bad *cough*."

 Tino shook his head at how crazy his mom was.

 "I can't believe you just ate one of those grasshoppers. I don't want any goodnight kisses from you now."

 Ms. Tonitini simply rolled her eyes. 

"So, what did Tish want today?" 

"Oh nothing. All she did was read a poem, and after she read it she got mad with me. I'm not sure what her deal was."

 "That certainly is odd. That doesn't really sound like her, does it?"

 "No, not at all. Actually, everyone seems to be acting weird lately. Not so much Carver, but Tish and Lor have really been crazy the past week or so."

 "Hmm, well, maybe they are still adjusting to high school life."

 "I guess that could be it. I certainly hope they snap out of it soon though. They are starting to freak me out."

 "I'm sure things will go back to normal soon. It isn't like any of you to stay different for too long."

 "Yeah, that's true. And hopefully we'll stop getting such crazy amounts of homework. It's completely insane! That homework almost fried my brain to a crisp. We should boycott homework."

 "I think homework can build character. It's good to know you are learning a lot at school."

 "That's such a mom thing to say. Why can't you be supportive of my anti-homework stance?"

 "Because then I would be violating the rules of motherhood. You should probably get some rest to make sure you are ready for school tomorrow after such a harrowing weekend."

 "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll be in my room."

 Tino got up and left the table for his room. He sat down on his bed and sighed.

 "Hey there. Well, this wasn't such a good weekend for me. Friday started off good, but take a look at the mark on my forehead. It all went down from there. I'm really hoping things get back to normal soon. Here's hoping to better times, later days.

       End of Chapter Twelve

It must be a miracle, it took me under two weeks to update. I'm hoping to have this story all wrapped up before I go on summer break. That gives me 3 and a half weeks to write three more chapters. I think I will be able to pull it off. On another note I believe in giving credit where credit is due. Therefore, I must thank the kindly Lord Malachite for helping me with the poem. It was a dual effort, and I am thankful for his help. Okay, that's it for now. I hope to be back soon. Keep reading and reviewing.


	13. Collide In Pain

Change Has Come – Chapter Thirteen: Collide In Pain  
  
Bahia Bay never looked more miserable than it did this Friday afternoon. Thunderstorms dominated the skies and winds whipped through the small town. Power lines were down, and trees were losing branches like no tomorrow. The roads were quickly turning into rivers, the ocean was raging at the sandy beach, and many stores were closed. All in all, it was a terrible sight to behold. Though maybe the weather was simply a reflection of the general state of the children in Bahia Bay. A week of hellish homework, perilous pop quizzes, tyrannical teachers, and laxative lunches had all but broken the will of the students. As the school day came to a close, the students' grumbling could be heard throughout the hallways. Every child was disgruntled with the large weekend homework load not to mention having to venture home through Hell on Earth. From among the crowd a worn out Tino walked out and leaned up against his locker just to straighten out all the work in his mind. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate through all of the misery, but it was of little help. He opened his eyes and went to speak but instead he shook his head and opened his locker. Tino started gathering his books when he heard something like a squeak behind him. He turned around to see Dot struggling to be able to stand let alone walk with her backpack full of books.  
  
"Are you all right?" Tino asked.  
  
"Not really, I'm having a hard time carrying all of this. I don't know how I'm gonna make it home in this weather," Dot replied.  
  
"Don't worry about it. I'll help you get home with those books."  
  
"Thanks, but are you sure that you will be able to help since you are carrying all of your books as well?"  
  
"I'll manage somehow. Just let me tell one of the guys to go on without me. I'll be right back."  
  
Tino went up a flight of stairs and then walked down the hallway where he spied Carver. Carver like every other child was grumbling and angrily throwing his books into his schoolbag.  
  
"Hey Carv," Tino called out.  
  
Carver turned around and gave a slight wave for a greeting.  
  
"I just wanted to let you know that I'm helping Dot carry her books home so I won't be walking with you and the girls," Tino said.  
  
"Understood, I'll make sure to tell Tish and Lor. Man, can you believe this weather and this homework? It's murderous."  
  
"I know. It's driving me insane. Why can't these teachers let up a little?"  
  
"Tell me about it. But isn't it all a little strange when you think about it?"  
  
"What do you mean, Carv?"  
  
"Think about it. It's not just a few teachers who are giving out large amounts of homework, it's all of them. That seems strange to me. I think someone must be behind this. Possibly an evil kid hating alien who has brainwashed all the teachers or maybe it's all part of some worldwide government conspiracy to break kids' spirits and turn them into mindless robots."   
  
Tino responded only with a stare.  
  
"What? It's possible," Carver protested.  
  
"Somehow I doubt its aliens or a government plot. Whatever it is, though, I wish it would stop. Anyway, I'm goin' now, later days."  
  
Carver nodded and Tino turned to leave but stopped.   
  
"Hey my shoe is untied. I had better tie it," Tino thought to himself.  
  
He bent down tied it and was off. Shortly thereafter the girls showed up carrying their bulging schoolbags. They dropped their bags while Carver finished packing his own.  
  
"I think I hear my shoulders crying," Tish lamented.  
  
"Totally, and I'm used to pushing myself to my limits," Lor agreed.  
  
Carver stood up in shock.   
  
"Wait a minute, did I just hear you two go more than one minute without arguing, and not only that but it sounded like you had agreed on something. This storm must be the end of the world then. That's all there is too it, the world is coming to an end."  
  
Lor and Tish rolled their eyes.  
  
"Yeah, go ahead make jokes. You know Lor and I are very grown up. We have talked things over and we have come to an agreement on what needs to be done," Tish responded.  
  
"Oh yeah? And what solution have you come up with?" Carver asked.  
  
"We can't tell you since Tino may show up at any moment," Lor responded.  
  
"Oh you don't have to worry about that. He left already to help Dot carry her books home," Carver answered.  
  
Tish and Lor sighed.  
  
"Well, regardless, it's better for this matter to be discussed somewhere private such as my room," Tish commented.  
  
Lor nodded and Carver shrugged. Carver finally finished packing his bag and with one loud heave in unison the three lifted their school bags and began the grueling walk. Tish, Lor, and Carver trudged through the streets dodging wild trashcans, swiping away the rain that drenched their faces, and making their way through areas of high tree fallout. Somehow the trio made it to Tish's house without serious harm though there were some scrapes and bruises all around and a general sense of looking like drowned rats. Once inside Tish went and got towels for all of them to dry off with.   
  
"I think I've gotten less wet swimming in a pool," Carver commented.

"You said it. I just hope that my books didn't get wet," Lor said.  
  
"Yeah, that would be the last thing any of us need now. We have so much work in each subject that if even one book is wet we have big trouble on our hands," Tish added.  
  
"Oh man, just thinking about the homework gives me a headache. I gotta stop focusing on it," Carver lamented.  
  
"Well, for the time being let us put off homework while we explain our plan on dealing with the Tino problem," Tish said.  
  
"Ah, yes, this I want to hear," Carver said with a bright demeanor.  
  
Tish cleared her throat.  
  
"Let me start off by saying that what makes this plan beautiful is its simplicity. Once a plan gets complicated too many things can go wrong. That's why we are keeping this direct and foolproof. It's a plan in the standing tradition of great-"  
  
"Just get to the plan already," Carver interrupted.  
  
"I'll explain it," Lor said, "Our plan is to simply tell Tino how we feel and inform of all that has been going on with us. We want to get everything out in the open."  
  
Tish and Lor looked at Carver looking for a response but all he did was look back forth between the two girls with an emotionless face.  
  
"Sooo, what do you think?" Tish asked hesitantly.  
  
"That's your plan? To tell Tino everything? How can you possibly be proud of a plan like that? What does that even begin to accomplish in this situation? Are you aware of how bad that plan of yours is?" Carver asked rapidly.  
  
"It's not that bad," Lor commented.  
  
"I think it's that bad. You know Tino as well as I do, and we both know that he can't handle any big news at all. Not to mention that he already has a girlfriend. So to sum it up you would be breaking the biggest news of all time on him, the fact that two of his best friends are head over heels for him, and you would be putting him in the most awkward of positions by telling him. Now can either of you tell me how this is a good plan?"  
  
"I don't know if I would use the phrase 'head over heels'," Lor said.  
  
"Yeah, I think I would go with phrasing such as 'I like him as more than a friend'," Tish added.  
  
Lor nodded in agreement.  
  
"Whatever. You still haven't answered my question though," Carver said.  
  
"Well, I think of it like this, telling Tino is better than running around behind his back and possibly ruining our friendship with him. Also let's not forget that if we do this than Lor and I are no longer at war since it all lies in Tino's hands at that point. I'm tired of lying to him. He is our friend after all and he deserves the truth no matter what it may be," Tish said.  
  
"I agree. Between this whole situation and the ton of homework, something has to give, and this may be the only way to relieve some of the stress. I want to be done with this once and for all," Lor chimed in.  
  
"Hmm, the two of you don't seem to have the passion you once did. Perhaps you two have done some maturing in the past week or so. That's good, now hopefully you can get past your childish games," Carver commented.  
  
"Carver, if there is one person I don't want to hear that from it's you. You are so childish it's unbelievable. I've never encountered anyone in all of my life who has acted as immature as you have. Why if I had a dollar for every time you did something childish or immature, I would be the first ever trillionaire," Tish ranted.  
  
"All right already! I retract my earlier statement. Geez, you gotta lay it on thick, don't you? Anyway back to the Tino problem. We all know how Tino is when it comes to making decisions he can't make them especially when it comes to choosing between his friends. Are you sure you want to lay such an important decision on him? It could make his head explode."  
  
"That's true, but we aren't really asking him to make a decision. We are just letting him know how we feel, and if a decision must be made then we'll just have to trust in Tino," Lor said.  
  
"Look, the bottom line is that we have to do his. Yeah, it has its downsides, and it will create an awkward situation, but it is the only thing we can do now," Tish added.  
  
Carver sighed and shook his head.   
  
"I guess I can't argue with you guys. I suppose you're right. You're stuck between a rock and a hard place and while this plan isn't a good one, it is the only one."  
  
"Good, I'm glad you finally, sort of, not really came around," Tish commented.  
  
"At least it will make for an interesting story. I can't wait to hear the details of it from you guys," Carver said.  
  
"What are you talking about, Carver? You are coming with us. We need you there for moral support and we need you there if, er, when Tino freaks out," Lor said.  
  
"Hold on a second! I'm not getting roped into this. This is your plan I'll have nothing to do with it. No, sir! Not me!"  
  
"Carver, we can do this two ways. One, you agree and you come with us or two, we beat the bejeezus out of you and then you come with us."  
  
"Well, I always like to keep the bejeezus in me so I guess I'm going with the first choice."  
  
"Good decision, Carver."  
  
The two girls smiled at him. Carver sighed again.  
  
"Whatever happened to give peace a chance? Anyway, now that that problem is settled how about we tackle some homework before we head over to Tino's place?"  
  
The girls' smiles disappeared quickly and they nodded with very sullen faces.  
  
An hour or so later Tino was finally making his way up his street with a hellish wind threatening to tear him apart and send him to the next county. Mustering all the strength he had, which wasn't much, Tino forced his way though the wind and made it to his front door. His entire body ached having endured the elements and two schoolbags full of the devil's punishment. Tino made it two steps into his house before collapsing. He was face down on the rug and looked to have rigor mortis setting in. Ms. Tonitini walked into the room sipping her herbal tea and looked down at her son.  
  
"Are you sucking on the carpet again?"  
  
Tino didn't respond. His mother sipped her tea again.  
  
"You really get into sucking on that rug. Maybe I should push you around by your legs and use you as a vacuum cleaner."  
  
"For all you know, I could be in some serious medical trouble, and all you can do is make jokes. What kind of mom are you?"  
  
"I'm the kind of mom who knows when her son is being overdramatic. Now get off the floor like that someone is liable to trip over you, plus you have a ton of homework you need to do. All that work won't do itself. I suggest you start with your math, it's quite a doozy."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it and- Hey, wait a minute! How do you know about my homework?"  
  
Ms. Tonitini sipped her beverage once more.  
  
"Either I know everything or a little bird told me, you get to choose what reason you want to believe."  
  
Tino sighed.  
  
"No straight answers this time, eh?"  
  
"Nope, now go do your homework."  
  
Tino grumbled while he dragged his schoolbag up to his room. He just got in his room when he tripped onto the floor.  
  
"What in the world? Oh, my shoe is untied again. Odd, that's twice in one day now and I've never had this happen before."  
  
Tino dragged his schoolbag over to his desk area and thought to himself, "Well I shouldn't waste any time. I'm gonna dive right into it this weekend."  
  
He sat down, pulled out his math first, and prepped himself. Just before he started his mother called to him.  
  
"Tino! Carver, Tish, and Lor are here for you!"  
  
"Okay! Send them up!" Tino called back.  
  
Moments later the three friends walked into Tino's room with Carver in the lead.  
  
"Hey guys, sorry I didn't walk home with you," Tino said.  
  
"It's okay, duty calls, right?" Carver said.  
  
"Heh, yeah, so then what brings you guys over to my house?"  
  
Tish looked at Lor who looked at Carver. He looked at Tino and then turned back to Lor and she looked at Tish.  
  
"What is this ping-pong?" Tino asked.  
  
"No, it's just that we have something important to tell you and it is quite difficult to say," Tish answered.  
  
"You guys shouldn't have trouble telling me something, you know I'm always open to what you have to say. We're friends, remember?" Tino commented.  
  
"Yeah we know, but that's kind of what makes this so hard to say," Lor said.  
  
"Because we're friends?"  
  
"Yeah, it makes what we have to very awkward for all of us."  
  
Tino was baffled as to what they had to tell him. He couldn't imagine something that would be awkward for all of them because they were friends.  
  
"All right, I'm just going to come out and say it. Tino, Lor and I both have a crush on you," Tish said.  
  
Tino blinked and then cleaned his ear with his finger.  
  
"I'm sorry. I must be having horrible hearing problems. Say that again because I think I misheard you."  
  
"We both have a crush on you."  
  
"See? My ears must be acting up or something because both times now it sounded like you said that you two have a crush on me."  
  
"That is what I said."  
  
"Yeah, Tino it's true. Somewhere along the line we both got a crush on you," Lor added.  
  
Tino sat silently for a moment.  
  
"Do you two realize that I'm Tino Tonitini?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Do you realize that we are all best friends?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Okay then, I officially can't follow this at all."  
  
"Look, I understand that this comes as a bit of a shocker but it is important that you understand our feelings," Tish commented.  
  
"So then is this the explanation for all your guys' weird behavior, well, your weird behavior as of the past month or so?"  
  
"Yeah, this accounts for it," Carver quickly answered for the girls.  
  
"Wow does that mean you wrote that poem for me and does that mean you tolerated my sports incompetence for me?"  
  
The girls nodded for their respective actions. Tino was in complete shock.  
  
"I can't believe the lengths you went to for me. I'm amazed."  
  
"I have to admit though that I am to blame for your bad headache last week. You see, Tish and me were spying on you and Dot and I threw that pebble at you guys to try and mess things up," Lor said sadly.  
  
"Well, you sure did mess me up that night. What would possess you to throw a rock at me?"  
  
"I got carried away in the moment. We thought we had heard Dot ask you if you wanted to make out and I overreacted."  
  
"Make out? That's not what she said. Dot asked me if I ever wanted to break out."  
  
"Break out?"  
  
"Yeah, she was trying to explain to me about how people always stereotype her as a rich, ditzy blonde, and how she wanted to break out of that mold people fit her in to."  
  
"Oh well that changes things a lot. Oh man, I already felt bad about throwing that pebble now its killing me."  
  
"Speaking of Dot, did you two forget that I'm going out with her these days? She is my girlfriend after all."  
  
"We know, but we had to tell you about our feelings. I know I speak for both of us when I say that this whole thing has been driving us out of our minds. We put this off long enough," Tish said  
  
Tino sighed and looked at the floor. His voice dropped in tone.  
  
"What do you want me to say? I never expected something like this to ever happen. I have no idea how to deal with it. Both of you are very good friends of mine. I care for both of you, but this is something different from that. It's a different kind of care. I'm not sure I can care like that for either of you. Not only that it's not like I could date both of you. It would be one or the other. How could I ever make that decision?"  
  
"We aren't asking you to make a decision, Tino. We are just letting you know how we feel. If Fate should you bring to one of us then so be it, and the other will have to deal with it. And should Fate keep you with Dot then we will both have to deal with that. Let's face it you are already with Dot. I guess it makes sense that you would simply stay with her," Tish stated.  
  
"If it were only that simple now. I already said I care about you two, so if I stay with Dot than it will cause you guys some form of sadness. You know I can't stand it if you are upset over what I'm doing. Plus, we already have a bond formed over years of friendship. In all honesty we are closer to each other already than I am to Dot. Perhaps this could be Fate, but what do I know? I'm just a kid. Anyway, I'm just rambling now. I need some time to sort this whole thing out because I don't know what to think anymore."  
  
"We'll go then and leave you alone. I'm sorry about this," Lor said.  
  
"Don't apologize. There is nothing to apologize about," Tino responded forcing a smile.  
  
Lor forced a smile too before leaving the room. Tish went to say something but decided against it and she left with a wave. Carver got up and walked over to Tino.  
  
He patted him on the back and asked, "You sure you are gonna be okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I'll be fine. My head is just tied in knots right now."  
  
"Well, if you need any help with anything give me a buzz on the walkie-talkie. Oh and by the way your shoe is untied."  
  
"Oh thanks. Later days."  
  
Carver waved back and was off with the girls. Tino tried to think but his mind was too much a blur. He looked down at his desk and saw his math book staring back at him. Tino groaned and smacked his head down on the book.  
  
Elsewhere in Tino's house Lor, Carver, and Tish slowly walked down the stairs and headed for the door. On the way they passed Ms. Tonitini trying to make something for advanced bead class.   
  
Not even bothering to look up from her project she asked, "So how did Tino take the news?"  
  
"Well, he took it about as well as you might expect… Hey wait a minute! How do you know about this?" Carver asked stunned.  
  
"A little bird told me, (unfortunately)."  
  
Tish and Lor felt a little awkward talking with Tino's mom now.  
  
"It's okay, there is no need to feel awkward," Ms. Tonitini told them.  
  
The three children were amazed at the power of Tino's mom.  
  
"I'm sure Tino will be fine, and I'm everything will work out fine. I bet this will be one of those things you look back on years later and have a good laugh about it."  
  
"I sure hope so because we certainly aren't laughing now," Lor commented.  
  
"At any rate don't worry about Tino. I'll make sure to check in on him. He'll be up and doing his homework in no time," Tino's mom said.  
  
"Speaking of which, we all need to get home and get more of that homework load done," Tish said.  
  
"At least the storm has calmed down," Carver noted.  
  
"Yeah, at least there is one thing to be thankful for," Lor added.  
  
The three friends sighed and waved goodbye to Ms. Tonitini.   
  
Tino's mom sat on the floor and thought to herself, "Maybe that homework can be toned down a bit. At this rate it will break these kids. Well, I had best go check on Tino. Make sure he isn't driving himself up a wall over this."  
  
She got up and walked off to Tino's room.  
  
End of Chapter Thirteen  
  
Well, so much for my goal of finishing this story before I left school. A lack of interest contributed to the lengthy delay in updating. Honestly, I had started this chapter around April 21st. Thankfully; I'm back into this thing again. I had my doubts while trying to get some stuff done for this chapter, but now I'm feeling it so this story will be finished in a timely manner. Also on a positive note, I should have a completely new story started before this week is over so keep an eye out for that as well. I plan on being able to finish this story and write the new one without having them interfere with each other. Of course, I say a lot of things that never wind up happening, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one. Until next time, keep readin' and reviewin'.


	14. River Of Deceit

Changes Has Come - Chapter Fourteen: River Of Deceit  
  
The noon sun hung over Tino like a solitary light in an interrogation room. Beating down on him, making him sweat. It only had one question on its mind and it desperately wanted an answer. Who do you choose? Who do you choose? Who do you choose?! It was enough to drive a man insane. However, Tino wasn't a man, he was a boy. Since that was the case he had already gone insane the night before as he lay awake pondering this question. Everything gnawed at him and every little thing seemed to be the biggest annoyance possible. The ticking of his watch was an unbearable reminder of time running thin, and the birds chirping mocked him for his situation.  
  
"Damn birds. Like I don't know how bad this whole thing is already. They don't need to constantly remind me. God must have a sense of humor, that's for sure. Love, crushes, romance, relationships, it's all too much. I liked things better when I was younger, but now everything has changed. One day I'd like to- Shut up, you stupid birds!"  
  
Tino looked at the birds. His gaze was a mixture of intrigue, anger, and sleeplessness, and it didn't sit well with his mother. She had been worrying about him since he came down for breakfast and ate what she had made without any remarks. Ms. Tonitini walked out onto the front steps where Tino was ranting and raving to the birds.  
  
"Uh, honey, the neighbors can see you. Maybe you should leave those birds alone. I'm sure they've learned their lesson by now."  
  
"Fine, fine. You birds are lucky that you've got my mom sticking up for you, or else it wouldn't have been too pretty out here."  
  
Tino shambled back to the steps and flopped down onto them. Tino's mom put her hand on his shoulder ready to dispense some motherly advice.  
  
"Dear, you should probably come inside and rest a bit. I understand that you are facing quite a problem, trying to choose among your friends, but yelling at birds out here isn't going to solve your problem."  
  
"Yeah, I know, but it's a lot easier to yell at these birds then it is to figure out a solution to this problem," Tino responded.  
  
"It might be easier, but you can't run from this problem. You have to face it head on. I know how hard this must be for you, but this is something you need to really put your heart and mind into. The more you put it off and just grumble about how hard it is, the harder it will become. You have to think long and hard about all the factors involved and then solve this dilemma."  
  
"You're right. I have to get on top of this thing as soon as possible. This could take all day."  
  
"Well, hopefully not because you still have your homework to do."  
  
Tino let out the biggest sigh known to man.  
  
"Right, homework. Ugh, I've never felt so horrible in all of my life. Why must we be tortured with so much homework?"  
  
Tino buried his face in his hands.  
  
His mother patted him gently on the back and said, "I'm sure there is a good reason behind all of the homework. Whoever is responsible for it all probably is doing it in your best interest."  
  
"Best interest? Bah! Whoever is responsible is nothing more than a kid hater."  
  
"I don't think so. I realize that the homework seems like a real pain to you, but if you were to find the person responsible for this I think you understand its purpose."  
  
Tino rolled his eyes.  
  
"Whatever. Anyway, I need to have some private time to mull over my situation so I'll be in my room."  
  
"Okay, honey, just make sure to keep calm and take deep breaths."  
  
Tino nodded and was off.  
  
Ms. Tonitini sat on the steps a little longer and thought, "Maybe for Tino's sake, I should arrange a meeting to let him know the method to the madness. Yeah, I think that would be for the best."  
  
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$  
  
Carver walked along one of Bahia Bay's many side streets kicking a rock as he walked. He was meeting Tish and Lor at the Snack Shack to further discuss the Tino and homework issues. They had decided not to invite Tino to try and give him some space and some time. At the current time however, Carver was completely absorbed in kicking the rock around. He was imagining himself as a star soccer player dodging all incoming defenders.  
  
"Descartes fakes left then right and another two defenders go down. Oh wow, what a beautiful move by Descartes easily swerving right around everyone opening up a clear shot. He shoots, and scores! Descartes has won the game for his team and the crowd goes wild!"  
  
Carver jumped around a bit continuing to kick the rock around. His day dreaming was momentarily broken by someone calling his name. He glanced to the side to see Dot approaching him on a scooter.  
  
"Oh, hey there," Carver said going right back to the rock.  
  
"Hi, having fun?" Dot asked amused by Carver.  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Carver responded almost mechanically.  
  
"Is Tino at his house?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah."  
  
"Good, I want to talk to him."  
  
"I wouldn't go if I were you," Carver warned.  
  
"Why? Is something the matter?" Dot asked.  
  
"Tino is just out of it right now. I think he needs some time to compose himself."  
  
"What happened to him?"  
  
Carver kicked the rock around a bit more before starting to answer and even as he answered he continued kicking the rock around.  
  
"It's just been a crazy time is all. The tons of homework, his getting involved with you, Tish and Lor trying to break you two up because they each want him, and me mixing things up for amusement, it's come down hard on him."  
  
Carver said all this without batting an eye. Apparently all of his brain was focused on kicking the rock around.  
  
"What did you say?" Dot demanded with growing anger.  
  
Carver stopped kicking the rock and looked at her. He was curious as to why she was getting mad.  
  
"Was it something I said?" Carver asked.  
  
Dot clenched her fists together at Carver's senselessness.  
  
"Yes it was something you said! Tish and Lor have been trying to break us up because they want him? I can't believe this."  
  
"I can't believe I said that and didn't realize it," Carver mused.  
  
"Well realize it, buster! Were you just going to meet Lor and Tish?" Dot demanded in anger.  
  
"Y-yeah I was actually," Carver responded.  
  
"Where were you meeting them at?!"  
  
"I'm not so sure that-"  
  
"Where at!?"  
  
"The Snack Shack!" Carver yelped.  
  
He found himself afraid of Dot since he had learned just how destructive a girl's anger could be.  
  
Dot pounded her fist. "When I get my hands on those two...," she grumbled.  
  
With that she sped off on her scooter presumably going to the Snack Shack. Carver was left on the street corner still trembling. He looked around to make sure no one had seen him get intimidated by such a small girl. Carver couldn't help but feel that he should have been more mindful of who he was talking to and what he was saying.  
  
"Hmmm, I probably could have handled that situation a bit better. I suppose this isn't going to go over well with anyone. Guess I should pray that no one gets killed once Dot reaches Lor and Tish. Wait a minute, Dot, Tish, and Lor are all girls that means if they fight... it's a catfight! I've gotta be there for this. It should be awesome!"  
  
Overcome with testosterone Carver ran like the wind for the Snack Shack. His heart pounded and his mind raced, and the wind tugged at his face as he tore down the streets of Bahia Bay as Carver got close to the Snack Shack he noticed that there was no one fighting around it.  
  
"Am I too late? Oh man, please don't tell me I'm too late."  
  
Carver got to the Snack Shack and looked inside and there sitting calmly were Tish, Dot, and Lor. They were eating some chili cheese fries and appeared to be on quite friendly terms. Carver was perplexed by the situation and simply stared at them from the doorway. The three girls turned their eyes to Carver and stared at him with ice cold eyes. All of their eyes met and it was deathly silent ........................................................................................ silent ................................................................................................................... .........................................................................................silent............................................................................................................. .......silent ....................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................................... silent ............................................................ ........................................................................................................................................................................silent ....................................................................................................silent ...............................................................................................................................silent ..... ..................................................................................................................................................................silent ............................................................................................. silent ........... ....................................................................... silent......................................................................... silent .................................................... ................................................................................................................... silent ................ ................................. silent .  
.................................................................. silent .  
silent ................................................................................ silent .  
................................................................................................................................ silent .  
.................................................................................. silent .  
.................... silent ................................................................................................................  
  
"Have a seat Carver," Tish said coldly.  
  
Carver swallowed hard, and approached the table with caution. He sat down slowly gazing at each of the girls.  
  
After some awkward silence Carver spoke up, "It's good to see you girls aren't fighting. I was pretty sure you would be."  
  
"Yes, that would be a reasonable assumption," Dot said.  
  
"However, we talked it over and we have come to terms," Lor added.  
  
"Really? What have you decided?" Carver asked.  
  
All three girls spoke at once, "You're a jerk."  
  
Carver looked a tad annoyed and grumbled something under his breath.  
  
"You really need to try and learn how to keep that big mouth of yours shut more," Lor commented.  
  
Carver grumbled a few more things.  
  
"Honestly, though, now that I've heard the whole story, I can't believe you would stoop so low Carver," Dot said.  
  
Carver shifted a bit in his chair. "I know it sounds bad, but try and look at it from my vantage point. If you were just given some of the biggest news possible and you could use it for amusing purposes, wouldn't you do it?"  
  
"No," Dot answered bluntly.  
  
"Ehhhh, tough crowd," Carver thought.  
  
"At any rate admonishing Carver anymore isn't important. He already received his just desserts," Tish said.  
  
"Pffft. I wish I had already received some desserts."  
  
Tish gave Carver a look, but refused to dignify that statement with a response.  
  
"Um, I have a question," Carver said.  
  
"Maybe we have an answer," Lor responded.  
  
"How are you all handling the whole Tino issue?"  
  
"Well, as you doubtless know, we are all rational people. Hey, don't roll your eyes! Like I was saying we are rational people so we are going to calmly wait to hear what Tino has to say," Tish said.  
  
Carver sat there expecting to hear a bit more, but as nothing else was said he looked over the three girls.  
  
"That's it? That's how you are dealing with this?"  
  
"Yeah, what else can we do? This really isn't up to us," Lor added.  
  
"I see. And Dot you are okay with all of this?"  
  
"It's like Tish and Lor say, we have to wait for Tino. This is something he has to decide for himself. However, and I mean no offense to Tish and Lor, since I am Tino's girlfriend still I am confident that he will stay with me."  
  
Carver shrugged his shoulders. "Well, whatever works for you. I never will understand women."  
  
"I agree," the girls said in unison. Once again, Carver grumbled something.  
  
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$  
  
"I know what to do now. I can't ignore all of the good times we've had. It won't be easy, but this is the decision that I have made," Tino thought to himself.  
  
It took a whole day of deliberation, but he had finally reached his answer. Tino couldn't help but smile. He was proud of the fact that he was actually able to make such an important decision with minimal outside help. Not only that, but he had to feel happy about the fact that he had not one, not two, but three girls looking to make him theirs.  
  
"And Carver always thought he would be the ladies' man. Little did he know he should have been taking lessons from me," Tino thought with swelling pride.  
  
"Tino! Come here for a minute!" his mother called.  
  
Tino came down the steps and found his mom sitting on the couch.  
  
"What's up?" he asked.  
  
"Well, I had thought I heard someone at the door and when I went to answer it there was this envelope addressed to you in the mail slot."  
  
Ms. Tonitini handed him the envelope which was completely unmarked aside from saying "Tino" on the front. Tino looked the envelope over carefully. Life had taught him to be skeptical of everything especially envelopes like this.  
  
"Aren't you going to open it?" Tino's mom asked him.  
  
"I have to make sure that this thing is safe before opening it, you know."  
  
Ms. Tonitini rolled her eyes.  
  
"Hey, better to be safe than sorry. God knows the first envelope I don't inspect will be the one with anthrax in it."  
  
His mother rolled her eyes again. Carefully, Tino opened the envelope. Inside he found a brief letter. The handwriting looked very familiar but he couldn't place it.  
  
"What does it say?" Ms. Tonitini asked.  
  
"You aren't going to believe this. It's a letter from the principal. I'm being called into a meeting tomorrow to discuss the large amounts of homework. This is it. I'm going to find out what the story is with this whole homework mess."  
  
"Fantastic. This should lift your spirits. Right?"  
  
"I'll say. Boy, when I get there I am gonna tear into that principal. I'll be firing off questions left and right. There will be no safe ground, and-" Tino stopped.  
  
He could feel his mother boring a hole into him with her stare.  
  
"Or maybe I'll just talk politely and discuss this matter like a mature young adult," Tino said.  
  
"That's what I thought. I'll have no son of mine being disrespectful especially to your principal. The principal is doing you a huge favor by talking about this homework problem with you so you must be courteous."  
  
"Yeah, yeah I know. I think tomorrow is going to be a very interesting day."  
  
"I'll second that," his mother said with a glint in her eye.  
  
End of Chapter Fourteen  
  
I apologize if any part of this story looks weird. In the actual document it looks right, but FFN likes to make things difficult with their poor formatting. In better news, now all that remains is one more chapter. It feels good to be so close to the end. All the mysteries will finally conclude and the end results may shock you! (Maybe.) It should be an exciting and satisfying conclusion. So then keep on reading and reviewing and keep your eyes peeled for The End of Change Has Come coming soon(er than later). 


	15. Our Love And Peace

Change Has Come - Chapter Fifteen: Our Love And Peace  
  
Tino rushed around his room trying to get himself ready. He had so much to do that day. His meeting with the principal was in half and hour and then after that he was meeting the gang down at the beach to finally settle things. The night before Tino had made the necessary calls to set everything up. Tino invited Dot along too figuring that this was surely something she needed to hear as well. Unbeknownst to him, however, his setting a meeting had caused a restless night for the girls. Tino also had a bit of restless night as well; his curiosity about his meeting with the principal had kept him awake. Upon thinking about it last night it occurred to him that he had no idea who the principal was. He had never heard the principal's name mentioned or heard one scrap of information about this mystery person. Nothing excited Tino like a good mystery.  
  
"Gotta hurry, gotta hurry, I can't be late. Oh man, I can't believe this is happening. What am I gonna say when I get there? What is the principal gonna say when I get there? Will it turn out the principal is really an alien? Maybe the office will really be a secret lair because the principal is actually a secret agent. The possibilities are endless!"  
  
Tino's mind was racing with thoughts.  
  
"You aren't going to figure out your principal's identity at all if you continue to waste time rambling through your thoughts," said Tino's mom who had suddenly appeared in the doorway.  
  
"Hey I thought we agreed on that no mind reading before noon rule."  
  
"I don't remember signing anything."  
  
"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, I'm going soon. I'm all set for the day. I'm just a bit anxious is all."  
  
"Nothing new there. Just remember to take a few deep breaths. You certainly don't want to get too anxious and then start hyperventilating."  
  
"Yeah I know. Experience has taught me that's no fun."  
  
"Well, your meeting is starting in twenty minutes so you had best get going. Good luck with everything."  
  
Tino smiled a little. "Thanks, mom. I'm off. Later days!"  
  
Tino hurried out of the room. His mother leaned up against the wall and smiled to herself.  
  
"I hope he goes easy on the principal. I know I never do. I haven't seen Tino this excited in a long time. Ahh, to be young again."  
  
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$  
  
Tino raced to the school. He barreled down all the streets almost knocking over some kids along the way. He was so absorbed in thought that he didn't even notice them yelling at him. As he turned the corner onto the school grounds he noticed how quiet and empty the place seemed on the weekend. The giant U-shaped building reminded Tino of a large magnet, drawing him in. As he raced for the main entrance he took a quick look at the faculty parking lot on the side of the building. He was hoping to catch a glimpse of the principal's car to see if he could make any assumptions from it but there was no automobile in the whole lot. Tino continued onto the main entrance, but found that it was locked. Next he tried the entrance on the student parking lot side. It was also locked. A bit flustered, Tino ran all the way around the school to the entrance marked "J" that was located in the faculty parking lot. Thankfully, this door was unlocked. Once inside Tino noticed that large metal grates blocked off anywhere that would take him other than the principal's office. Tino's destination was the first office just off to the left of the doors. A small plaque stuck out from the door announcing that this was the principal's office. Tino reached out and grabbed the brass knob.  
  
"All right, here we go. Remember, Tino just keep your calm. Don't get yourself too excited," Tino thought to himself.  
  
He turned the knob and proceeded inside. There was a small desk in the room and behind it sat a skinny old woman busily typing something on a computer. She looked up just enough to see Tino.  
  
"Tonitini?" she asked in a slightly raspy voice.  
  
Tino nodded.  
  
"The principal is waiting for you," she said pointing to the small room next to her desk.  
  
Tino nodded again and went to the door which had principal marked on it in big bold letters.  
  
"Heh, this is the first time I'm admitting the younger one. It's usually the mother," the secretary said quietly behind Tino.  
  
Ignoring the words of the old woman, Tino focused his mind entirely on this moment, and he opened the door. Tino entered the room, and noticed that the lights were off and the single source of light was a single window half obstructed by blinds. The ray of light that shone in illuminated the chair facing the window. In the light Tino could make out the arm of the principal but nothing more. No words were spoken but Tino knew to take a seat in the chair on the side of the desk opposite to the principal. Still the room was silent. Tino looked at the clock on the wall. The time was 12:06. He fidgeted a bit in the seat. It was unnerving to sit there in dead silence. Tino did not want to speak first nor did he feel that he should speak first. After all, it was the principal who had summoned him. Tino fidgeted again, and more silence followed. It seemed to continue on like this for a good ten minutes but when Tino checked the clock again it was only 12:07.  
  
Like a sudden strike of lightning that tears through the sky, the principal spoke but one word, "Tino."  
  
The suddenness of the sound caused Tino to jump a little, but that voice, he knew that voice. Slowly, the principal's chair began to turn. It twisted and groaned as it brought Tino and the principal face to face. Tino gasped, he thought his eyes were deceiving him.  
  
"You?! You're the principal?!"  
  
The principal chuckled a little.  
  
"Yes, it's me. I am the principal of Bahia Bay High School."  
  
"I can't believe it. This is what you do for a living?" Tino asked incredulous.  
  
"I do lots of things. This just happens to be one of them."  
  
"I see, but what's with having the lights off and not saying anything right away?"  
  
"Dramatic effect. You can turn those lights on now."  
  
Tino quick hit the switch and got back in his seat. His mind was going numb from confusion.  
  
"Could it really be that you are the one behind all of the homework?" Tino asked.  
  
"Yes, I admit it. I am the one solely responsible for the large amounts of homework. It was all my idea," the principal answered.  
  
"I don't understand it. I thought you liked kids. This homework is too evil to be coming from you. It makes no sense. Was I wrong? Do you dislike kids?"  
  
"Of course, I like kids. That's why I'm a principal. In fact, I like children and childhood so much that I assigned the large amounts of homework."  
  
"You did it because you like children? I don't follow this at all."  
  
"Yes, I suppose it does sound odd, so I had best explain it to you. You see when you become an adult and grow up to be my age, you go out and you work. Work takes up a good chunk of your time, and then when you come home you have to take care of your family and help to maintain your house. When all is said and done your free time is very limited and the same could probably be said about your money as well. Now when you are a child you don't have nearly as many responsibilities so you have more free time. That free time is something you should cherish, you know?"  
  
"Then this homework really doesn't make sense. If we should be cherishing this time then how would cutting into it with homework be helping us appreciate it?"  
  
"It'll make sense once I finish. The thing is there are a lot of kids who have forgotten that they are still children. They are already looking for love, trying to make big money, planning on where they will move off to, and so on and so forth. I was hoping that this homework would do two things. One that it would force the kids to concentrate on this work rather than all these adult things they wish for. And two that the homework would make them want to be free; to just sit around and talk rather than try and force themselves into adulthood before their time had come. This homework was supposed to be a reminder that they were still children and that they needed to take advantage of childhood while they still could. Do you understand?"  
  
"Yeah, I think I do. It makes sense, I think," Tino said.  
  
His gaze was directed at the floor. Inside he knew what the principal said applied to him.  
  
"It's nothing to be ashamed of really. Some people just forget who they are. As you know I have a daughter and she had also forgotten that she was still a child. I don't find a fault with her because of this; it's just how things happened. However, I think the homework got through to her, and I hope the homework got through to you as well."  
  
"I think the homework got through to everyone," Tino said with a little bit of a smile.  
  
"Heh, that's good. Then you'll be happy to know that I am ending the large amounts of homework."  
  
"Really?! Are you serious?!"  
  
"Yes. I'm not trying to torture any one I wouldn't make this go on forever. I've done my part, hopefully the message got through to some people. Anyway, I know you're meeting your friends at the beach in a little while so I'll end this meeting here."  
  
"How did you know about that?"  
  
"Let's just say a little bird told me."  
  
"All right. Thanks for telling me about this homework. Well, I'll be going now, later days."  
  
The principal waved and said, "Tino just remember you only have one childhood. Enjoy it."  
  
Tino smiled and nodded and the he left the room. The principal walked to the doorway of his room and looked at where Tino had just run out.  
  
"So was this practice with him?" the secretary asked.  
  
The principal chuckled a little. "Yeah, I guess you could call it that."  
  
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$  
  
Carver and the girls sat around on the beach anxiously awaiting Tino's arrival. Every five seconds they all kept checking the time wondering where Tino was. They had arrived ten minutes earlier and picked out a nice spot on the beach. In those ten minutes the beach seemed to fill exponentially. People were appearing left and right taking up every available spot. Eventually they spotted Tino running down the street towards the beach.  
  
"Ah, finally, we've been waiting for you. It's been a nerve-racking ten minutes," Carver said.  
  
"Sorry about that. I had some stuff I needed to do before I came here. Is Dot here too?" Tino asked.  
  
"No, but she told me that she would be showing up a little later," Tish said.  
  
"Hmmm, should I wait for her or not? This is important for her to hear as well, but at the same time I'm sure you all are anxious to hear what I have to say."  
  
"Totally. I vote for you telling us now. It's too hard to wait anymore and you can just tell Dot whatever it is you need to say when she gets here," Lor said.  
  
Carver and Tish nodded in agreement.  
  
"Well, since you all feel the same way I guess I'll tell you what my piece now."  
  
Tino paused for a second and somehow it made the whole each seem silent. Finally, things were going to be settled.  
  
"This is a hard thing to say as you might imagine. This may have been the worst situation I've ever encountered."  
  
"What about the time when a bird went to the bathroom on you just as school was starting?" Carver interjected.  
  
Tino shot him a look.  
  
"Sorry, I was just wonderin'."  
  
"Like I was saying, this is hard for me, but it's something that must be done. No sense in letting things wait any longer. Tish, Lor, I like both of you and I care about both of you. I also love spending time with the two of you. However, I could not have a romantic relationship with either of you. The two of you are like sisters to me. It would be way too awkward for me and I think that it would become awkward with you guys as well. Not only that, but we spend so much time together anyway and we still have a good time. There is no need to bring romance into this, you know? We're all friends to the end so we'll be together anyway."  
  
Tish and Lor both sighed and looked a little disappointed, but they didn't appear to be to upset over it.  
  
"I can't really say that I'm mad or sad. What you say makes sense. We still do have each other and we still have good times together. There is nothing to be that upset about," Tish said.  
  
"Yeah, there you go. I'll tell you what just in case you are feeling bad later I'll buy you some ice cream and-"  
  
"Tish! Tish!"  
  
The four friends looked to the side to see Percy running up to them calling out.  
  
"Oh Tish, I'm so glad you are here."  
  
"What's the matter, Percy?"  
  
"Well, we're putting on a play down at the end of the beach and one of our actresses just sprained her ankle so we need someone to fill in. We need your help otherwise this play can't go on."  
  
A giant smile spread across Tish's face.  
  
"The theater needs me. I cannot deny it my help. I will do my best. Let's go, Percy!"  
  
Tish and Percy turned and ran off for the play.  
  
"Well, she certainly doesn't seem too broken up," Carver commented.  
  
"Yeah, that's for sure, but what about you, Lor? Are you okay?" Tino asked.  
  
"Yeah, I guess so. I'm not really used to losing, but I think I'll get over the feeling. Like Tish said, you make a lot of sense. We'll still have good times together without romance and let's face it romance is not my good area."  
  
Tino laughed a little.  
  
"Yeah, I'll tell you what, though, so you can feel like a winner again I'll play you in-"  
  
"Hey, Lor!"  
  
This time it was Thomson who approached the friends.  
  
"Hey, Lor, my friends and I are gonna play some volleyball in a little bit and I was wonderin' if you wanted to be my partner."  
  
The sparkle in Lor's eyes nearly blinded Tino and Carver. Since words weren't coming to her at that time she simply nodded.  
  
"Awesome, we'll cream the other team for sure. C'mon, we're setting the net up over here," Thomson said leading the way.  
  
Lor followed like she was hypnotized.  
  
"Hey, was it just me or did it look like Lor just completely forgot she ever had a crush on you?" Carver asked.  
  
"It's not you," Tino said dryly.  
  
"Well, at least you've still got Dot, right?"  
  
"Yeah, now she just has to show up. I wonder what's taking her."  
  
"Beats me. I'm sure she'll show up soon, though. Hey, speaking of being late, what held you up?"  
  
Tino smiled a bit.  
  
"It was some important business, some very important business."  
  
"Important business? What business was more important than your news here?"  
  
"Why, only the business of finding out all the details behind the large loads of homework, that's what!"  
  
"What?! Are you kidding me?! You gotta tell me, is it aliens? Secret agents? Who is behind this?" Carver asked with growing excitement.  
  
"I'll tell ya who. The person behind all of this is none other than… the principal of the school."  
  
Carver sat there in silence for a moment.  
  
"The principal, I never even thought of that."  
  
"Yeah, I was shocked too. It certainly seems like the work of aliens...... Man, I wish Dot would get here."  
  
"Don't worry about it, man. She'll show up."  
  
While they waited Tino and Carver dozed off when someone saying Tino's name woke them up. The two drearily opened their eyes. It was Tasha. She was wearing a beautiful two piece swimsuit that seemed a little odd on her nonetheless it made Tino swallow hard.  
  
"This is what I like to wake up to," Carver muttered.  
  
"Oh, uh, hey Tasha. I haven't seen you in awhile," Tino said.  
  
"Yeah, I've been busy with moving to a new house in town, plus this homework at school has really put a damper on things."  
  
"Tell me about it."  
  
"Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to, you know, go for a walk or hang out for a little bit or something since we haven't talked in a while."  
  
Tino wanted to say yes, but he was waiting for Dot plus how would it look if he was walking around with some other girl instead of waiting for Dot. Tino hated to have to say no. He hadn't talked with Tasha in a while and now he was pushing her away.  
  
"I'd like to, but-"  
  
"Wait, Tino," Carver suddenly interrupted his voice somewhat distant.  
  
He was looking at something down the beach.  
  
"Go, Tino."  
  
"But what about-"  
  
"Trust me on this one. Just go with Tasha. I'll handle things here."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"I'm absolutely positive. This is something you need to do."  
  
"All right, then if you insist. Okay, Tasha, let's ride."  
  
"Cool, have I got some good stories for you," Tasha said as she and Tino walked off.  
  
Now Carver was alone but he continued to look down the beach. He was watching something perhaps a pretty girl, or a dog playing with a Frisbee, or maybe an ice cream vendor. No, it was none of these things. His gaze had come across a peculiar scene further down on the beach. It was Dot Cardigan looking quite smitten with Tony Tordelaro. Somehow it made Carver laugh.  
  
"Well, how about that? God really has a sense of humor. I guess that's just the way the dice roll sometimes. Well at least this should make for some interesting stories, but those are stories for another time and another place. Until then, later days!"  
  
THE END  
  
And so this story finally comes to a close. Man, this story took me a whole lot longer than I thought it was going to. When I first started I thought I would be done by the end of January. Oh well, things change and so does my writing schedule. Now, I'd like to thank everyone who put up with my horrible updating and stuck it out with this story. I really appreciate all of you who have reviewed as well thanks a lot. I enjoyed writing this story and I hope you enjoyed reading it. Oh, and even though I never named the principal, it is a character that does appear in the show. There are clues in here that reveal the principal's identity. I hope you caught them. That's all for this story, thanks once again for reading it. 


End file.
